Kol cop latest victim of digital arrest, loses Rs 17L
Times of India | 23 April 2025
Kolkata: A Kolkata Police sub-inspector, posted in one of the armed battalions of the force, was held under ‘digital arrest' for two-and-a-half-months and coerced into paying Rs 17.6 lakh to fraudsters who posed as officials from telecom regulator TRAI. Ironically, the cybercriminals accused the officer of being involved in cybercrimes.
The 46-year-old officer said he paid up to "settle the matter" to protect his family's honour.
The criminals first called the officer in Jan and accused him of cyber fraud, extortion and money laundering. Over WhatsApp video calls they showed him forged documents bearing logos of national agencies like CBI, ED and RBI and informed him that he had been named in 67 cases. One fraudster, posing as IPS officer Rakesh Kumar of CBI, even claimed that he needed to be arrested "immediately".
For close to three months, the fraudsters maintained relentless pressure on the police officer through threats and intimidation.
Convinced that the arrest threat was real, the officer made three separate payments — Rs 9.5 lakh on Jan 30, Rs 5 lakh on Feb 2 and Rs 3.1 lakh on March 3, 2025 — before realising that he was being duped.
Investigation revealed the scammers used the identity of a senior police officer in Mumbai to create a fake ID card, which they showed to the victim to convince him that he was speaking to an inspector of the Mumbai cybercrime unit. "In an earlier case, fraudsters had used a fake arrest warrant that featured the name of IPS officer Akash Kulhari who is currently serving in the Lucknow Commissionerate. We expect a similar modus operandi in this case," said an officer.
The probe has also traced the extorted funds to three different bank accounts in Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan and Tezpur in Assam. A case has been registered under multiple sections of Information Technology Act and BNS, including sections related to identity theft and cheating by impersonation.