Delhi: 50-year-old woman kept under ‘digital arrest’, extorted of ₹1.86 crore | Latest News Delhi- Dilli Dehat se


A 50-year-old journalist was held under “digital arrest” for seven days by cyber fraudsters claiming to be officers of central government agencies who extorted 1.86 crore from her, police said on Sunday.

The intelligence fusion and strategic operations (IFSO) of the special cell of Delhi Police has launched a probe. (Representational image)
The intelligence fusion and strategic operations (IFSO) of the special cell of Delhi Police has launched a probe. (Representational image)

The victim, Suparna Roy Chowdhary, who works as a copy editor with a South India-based media organisation, said that the fraudsters told her to go about her business as usual while they kept her under 24×7 surveillance and extorted her between October 8 and 14.

“On October 8, I was at home in Vasundhara Enclave, east Delhi when I got a call at 9.30 am. The caller said that a parcel with my name and address was seized by Customs while en route to Beijing, China because it contained 400 grams of MDMA drugs. When I said I had not booked any parcel, the caller insisted that I join a money laundering probe being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other agencies. More people joined the phone call and told me that I may be given a clean chit after their investigation,” Chowdhary told HT.

The callers then brought her into a video call, and pictures of police insignia and CBI logos seen on the video convinced her that they were calling from a law enforcement agency’s office. She was threatened that a police team would reach her house to arrest her if she left the video call, which lasted for three hours.

“They made me share details of my bank accounts and tricked me into transferring 1.30 crore to two accounts, the details of which they shared with me, saying that the amount would be returned to me after financial verification. They also asked me to liquidate all my savings such as mutual funds, shares and fixed deposits (FDs) and transfer more money to them. The transactions happened between October 8 and 14,” said Chowdhary.

She said she was told not to tell anybody about the calls, and asked to live a normal life and continue visiting Durga Puja pandals. They told her that an officer was surveilling her round-the-clock and any misstep would lead to her arrest and a jail term of not less than three years. During this period, she was made to attend audio and video calls and follow the instructions given to her, she said.

When they asked her to pay another 50 lakh, she approached a relative for monetary help because her savings were exhausted. But the relative made her realise that she was being duped, after which she approached the police on October 16.

The intelligence fusion and strategic operations (IFSO) of the special cell of Delhi Police has launched a probe to identify and nab the cyber criminals, police said on Sunday, adding that the suspects appear to be operating from a foreign country.



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