IT professional loses

Mumbai: An IT professional from Vasai fell victim to an elaborate cyber fraud scheme, losing ₹1.41 crore to criminals posing as law enforcement officers. The fraudsters placed the victim under “digital arrest”, claiming he was implicated in a ₹500 crore scam allegedly being investigated by the Intelligence Bureau in Bengaluru.
According to Vasai police, the victim, who works for a private firm in Mumbai, paid the sum to the fraudsters between 12 and 30 August.
Rahul Paradkar, 52, told police that on 11 August, he received a call from an unknown individual claiming to be from the notification department of the Bombay High Court. The caller informed Paradkar that his name had surfaced in an investigation into a ₹500 crore scam in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The caller warned Paradkar that investigating officers would contact him via video call to question him about the scam and seize all his bank accounts and assets. The following day, Paradkar received a video call on Skype where he saw two men and a woman in police uniforms. Two of them introduced themselves as Akash Sharma and Navjyot Simi. Believing them to be genuine officers, Paradkar answered all their questions about his personal life and financial transactions.
The fraudsters demanded ₹70 lakh as “assurance and bail amount”, claiming Paradkar was being placed under “digital arrest”. Frightened, Paradkar transferred the amount from his bank account to the account provided by the fraudsters. When his bank inquired about the large transfer, Paradkar claimed it was payment for a land deal in his village.
From 12 to 30 August, Paradkar liquidated his investments in mutual funds and other savings, paying a total of ₹1.40 crore to the fraudsters to clear his name from the alleged scam. On 31 August, when the criminals demanded more money to remove his name from a purported FIR, Paradkar suspected foul play and approached the police.
A police officer stated that they have registered a case against the unknown fraudsters under sections 318 (4) (cheating) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita. “We are trying to trace the transactions that Paradkar made to the accounts provided by the fraudsters”, said an officer from Vasai police station.