Kerala doctor duped of Rs 10.5 lakh in fake money laundering scam, accused arrested

Kannur: The Kannur City Cyber Police have arrested a man for allegedly extorting Rs 10.5 lakh from a female doctor from Thalassery in this north Kerala district, through a fake money laundering case.

The accused, a 28-year-old from Ludhiana in Punjab, had allegedly threatened the doctor with a "digital arrest" to coerce her into paying the money.

According to the police, the incident took place on November 30, 2025, when the fraudsters, posing as officers from the CBI in Mumbai, contacted the doctor over a WhatsApp video call. They claimed a money laundering case was filed in her name and pressured her to transfer money to settle the matter.

The doctor allegedly sent Rs 10,50,000 across different accounts, which the accused later withdrew via cheque. The Kannur City Police, following instructions from Police Commissioner Nidhinraj P, tracked the accused to a village in Ludhiana, news agency PTI reported.

Despite the accused constantly changing locations and a Kerala police team facing harsh weather conditions in Punjab, the accused was caught after five days of surveillance, police said.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in a recent cyber fraud case, a 63-year-old senior doctor from Jorhat Medical College and Hospital fell victim to an elaborate scam involving a fake “digital arrest,” resulting in a financial loss of Rs 49 lakh. The victim, a senior physician, has filed an urgent complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Jorhat, seeking the registration of an FIR and immediate investigation into the matter. According to the reports, the scam began on November 19, 2025, when the doctor received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number.