Retd teacher takes to FB after digital arrest fraud
Times of India | 27 January 2025
Kolkata: Seventy-eight-year-old Najirah Gangjee, a resident of Alipore in south Kolkata and a retired teacher of La Martiniere for Girls, became the latest victim of digital arrest in Kolkata. Her loss was counted by Lalbazar as one of the highest recorded in the city in recent months.
Gangjee took to Facebook, at the request of Kolkata Police, to recount her ordeal, also reminding how her quick decision to move the Alipore Police and then the south division cyber cell within hours of the fraud helped her recover a large portion of the money.
The accused, posing as Delhi Airport, RBI, and Delhi police personnel, managed to defraud Rs 1.5 crore from the victim last Sept. However, a persistent investigation and follow-up by the south division cyber cell, led by OC sergeant Suvankar Chakraborty and the team of cyber cell south division, over the past four months, finally managed to recover Rs 1.2 crore. The police are hopeful of a full recovery soon.
"On Sept 19, I received a call from New Delhi Airport with the person at the other end pretending to be a customs official by the name of K Sumith. He asked me to speak to another (airport department) officer. This man claimed that they intercepted a parcel supposedly sent by me to a person (Wang Zhang) in Malaysia. He also gave me a parcel number, saying it had 16 expired passports, 58 ATM cards, and 140g banned MDMA. They said the courier charges amounted to Rs 5,987.
"He connected me to one Sunil Kumar, SI, South Delhi Police, who took down my name, age, and address and then connected me to one Milind Barambe, the chief investigator of RBI. This man claimed I could be sent to three to seven years in prison and charged me with money laundering and drug and human trafficking. I was put under extreme fear. I was asked not to reveal anything, saying they would protect my money if I transferred the same from my two accounts. He also instructed me not to disclose this, as that would be a crime. They instructed me to transfer the money to a secret account," recalled Gangjee.
She said that after transferring the money (Rs 1.3 crore from one account and another Rs 15 lakh from another account), she realised her mistake. She then moved to Alipore PS on the advice of her friend and son, who in turn directed them to the south division cyber cell. The police then used the money chain to track accounts located as far as Mumbai and Goa to bring back the money, one of the highest recoveries in recent times. The police stated that they are investigating to nab the accused.
The interaction is part of a special contact programme for senior citizens to make them aware of cybercrimes, a development reported by TOI earlier.