Digitally arrested for 20 days, Retired MKCG Medical College doctor duped of Rs 1 crore by fraudsters

Bhubaneswar: In a recent cyber fraud case, a retired doctor from MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur allegedly became the latest victim of an elaborate digital scam and lost around Rs 1 crore to fraudsters posing as a TRAI official and a Mumbai Cyber Crime Division officer. The retired doctor was kept under digital arrest for 20 days and was threatened with arrest.

The incident came to light after the Odisha Crime Branch Police arrested the fraudster and accordingly seized his mobile phone, three SIM cards, a Saudi Arabian SIM card, a passbook, a passport, an Aadhaar card, a PAN card, a debit card, and credit cards. 

According to sources from the Odisha Police Headquarters on Thursday, the arrested individual has been identified as a 33-year-old man from Nizamabad, Telangana.

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During the investigation, it was revealed that he is involved in more than 13 criminal cases across the country. As per The Statesman news report, the CID busted an inter-state gang involved in digital arrest cyber fraud.

UNI news agency reported that a senior citizen from Berhampur was the victim of this digital "arrest" scam. The fraudsters introduced themselves as TRAI and Mumbai Cyber Crime Division police officers and inquired about an unknown mobile number linked to the victim's Aadhaar card. They initially threatened the victim, claiming that the mobile number had been used to purchase illegal weapons and drugs. Furthermore, the fraudsters stated that several people in Maharashtra had received threatening calls from the same number.

They detained the victim by making a WhatsApp video call, informing him that he could be imprisoned for 3 to 7 years for this offence. They then asked him to transfer all his money to their account for "verification." The fraudsters assured the victim that the entire amount would be refunded after the verification process was completed.

Following this, the victim transferred Rs. 1 crore in two instalments to the fraudster's account. After realizing that he had been scammed, the victim reported the matter to the Crime Branch. The police initiated an investigation and arrested the accused.

It is also noteworthy that the investigation has revealed the accused travelled to Saudi Arabia for 9 months in 2017 and again in 2024.

"The investigation in the case is still in progress, with a manhunt underway to arrest other accomplices involved in this crime, trace its trans-India ramifications, and follow the money trail," the CID officials told The Statesman. 

Following the incident, the CID issued an advisory for the public which mentioned, “The citizens are requested not to be subjected to any such online threat/mental duress by fraudsters pretending themselves as officers of law enforcement agencies/Customs/Excise/Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, etc., and to report such matters at the nearest police station."

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