Digi arrest crooks hold 2 elderly women hostage, extract 58L
Times of India | 9 December 2025
Kolkata: Two senior citizens—one from Bansdroni and the other from Anandapur—fell victim to two gangs of cyber crooks, who kept them under "digital arrest" over several hours. The financial loss suffered by the two women added up to Rs 58 lakh.
In the first incident, a 76-year-old woman from Central Park of Bansdroni was duped of Rs 30 lakh by individuals impersonating officers from the Mumbai Cyber Crime Department. The incident occurred between Nov 21 and Nov 29, with the victim held under constant hostage for over 110 hours. The modus operandi involved giving her threats and accusing her of committing crimes when visiting her son abroad. They also threatened the woman that her son would be arrested once he arrived in India.
The victim received a call on Nov 21 from an individual claiming to be a cyber-cop. The caller informed the victim that fraudulent transactions were detected from her bank accounts. The caller further intimidated her by suggesting that she could face "digital arrest" if she did not cooperate. Under the pretense of helping her secure her accounts, the fraudsters convinced the victim to transfer a total of Rs 30 lakh from her two private bank accounts to two different accounts reportedly located outside the state. The funds were transferred via RTGS to accounts in Andhra Overseas Bank and ICICI Bank, with the transactions occurring over a span of four days.
In the second incident, a 65-year-old woman, residing at Anandapur lost Rs 28 lakh where she was threatened for around a week in the name of ED and Mumbai Police. The first call came to her on Nov 21 when she was threatened with arrest for operating an account linked with the money laundering of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. The shocked woman paid Rs 20 lakh from her three accounts using RTGS. She took a loan of Rs 10 lakh to pay the remaining Rs 8 lakh, demanded by the crooks. The accused checked on her every two hours. The victim was thinking of taking a gold loan to pay off the accused when she finally confided in her daughter, who told her she had been conned.