An 82-year-old retired state government officer from Pune died of shock after finding out that he and his 80-year-old wife have lost Rs 1.19 crore in a "digital arrest" scam. The digital fraud was carried out between August 16 and September 17 by conmen posing as Mumbai Cyber Police and CBI officials.
The elderly couple, who have three daughters settled abroad, were tricked into believing that they were under investigation for money laundering and were kept under "digital arrest" for three days.
Victim's wife files a complaint with police
The victim's wife later filed a complaint after police verified her grievance application. She said that her husband was under immense mental pressure following the loss of their life savings and the relentless harassment by the fraudsters.
As per the FIR, the elderly man collapsed at home on October 22 and was taken to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Police reported that the man was "deeply disturbed" by the fraud.
How was the fraud case reported?
The fraud case started on August 16, when the elderly man received a call from someone claiming to be an "encounter specialist" with the Mumbai Police. He told the elderly man that his bank account and Aadhaar details had been misused in a money-laundering case involving a private airline.
According to police, the victim subsequently received a call from another fraudster claiming to be an IPS officer from the CBI's Delhi office who said the couple were involved in a money-laundering case and would be placed under 'home arrest' or 'jail arrest'."
They asked the man to keep his phone camera switched on, effectively keeping the couple under "digital arrest" for three days. During that time, they extracted all their bank and Aadhaar details and coerced them into transferring money into five different bank accounts.
During this time, the scammers drained the couple's savings, including funds their daughters had sent from abroad. After the calls suddenly stopped, the couple realised they had been duped and contacted one of their daughters, who urged them to report the crime to the police.
"After learning about the fraud, we asked the couple to come and file an FIR, but they said they would do so only after their daughter arrives from abroad," one official said.
Man died of a heart attack last week
The man died of a heart attack last week. "The fraud and the heart attack cannot be directly linked.
His wife, along with their daughter, later approached the Cyber Police Station. Based on her complaint, a case has been registered and further probe is underway," the official added.
