Amid the rapidly increasing number of digital arrest cases across the country, Mumbai Police has achieved a major breakthrough. Mumbai Police has busted an interstate digital arrest fraud racket and arrested seven accused from Gujarat and Rajasthan. This gang used to cheat people in the name of money laundering by posing as ATS and NIA officers. More than 31 cases are registered against this gang in 13 states. In Mumbai, two elderly people were arrested digitally and made victims of fraud worth crores of rupees. The first case was of fraud of Rs 58 crore and the second of Rs 70 lakh. Amidst the Supreme Court’s suo motu cognizance on digital arrests, both the major cases reported from Mumbai are worrying.
What is digital arrest case?
The biggest ever digital arrest scam has come to light in Mumbai, involving a 72-year-old businessman and his wife. The fraudsters, posing as ED and CBI officers, kept the couple mentally hostage for 40 days and defrauded them of more than ₹58 crore. The victim is a well-known investor. He had started several pharmaceutical companies and held senior positions in many companies. His wife is also highly educated. Both were very intelligent and experienced people, but this cyber gang laid such a clever trap that they got trapped.
The fraudsters also “recreated” fake police stations and courtrooms over video calls. Every two hours, the accused kept interrogating the couple and threatening them with ED or CBI charges if anyone disclosed the matter. The last transaction from his account was on September 29. Even after this, the couple did not believe that they had been defrauded for 11 days. Finally, on October 10, he lodged a police complaint.
Maharashtra Cyber Police has so far arrested seven people and recovered money from several bank accounts. Police have frozen around 6,000 bank accounts to get the remaining money back. According to officials, this is India’s biggest ever personal digital scam. The couple were so shocked that they had to take drastic measures. However, the police acted quickly and solved a major part of the case within a few days. Maharashtra ADG Yashasvi Yadav said that the gang was so professional that even educated people got trapped in their trap. This case shows that no one, no matter how intelligent, is safe from digital fraud.
68 year old man cheated of ₹70 lakh
According to the complaint, in the second case, a 68-year-old man from Panvel (Raigarh) was duped. The victim received phone and WhatsApp calls from 3:57 pm on September 25, 2025, to September 28, 2025. The callers, posing as officers of ATS, New Delhi and NIA, threatened him and claimed that his name was registered in money laundering and PMLA cases. They threatened to freeze the victim’s bank accounts. Subsequently, the accused threatened the victim through video call and pretended to be investigating, posing as police officers. This scared victim was defrauded of a total of ₹70 lakh.
Police investigation and action
After the case was registered at RAK Road police station, the police started a technical investigation with the help of cyber experts. Around 15 bank accounts were frozen and ₹10.5 lakh was seized. Technical investigation by the police revealed that some members of the gang were hiding in Gujarat and Rajasthan. After this a special team was sent there. The accused were constantly changing their locations, but the police traced them and arrested seven of them. According to the police, accused Yuvraj alias Marco is the mastermind of this gang, which has been active in cyber fraud for the last 2-3 years. The remaining accused had arranged bank accounts and SIM cards to carry out the fraud.
31 complaints registered across the country
Investigation has revealed that more than 31 cyber fraud complaints have been filed against this gang in 13 states. These include Maharashtra, Mumbai, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Kerala and West Bengal.
