Indore woman loses Rs 29.7 lakh in sophisticated digital arrest scam

An Indore woman was scammed of Rs 29.7 lakh in a 'digital arrest' fraud linked to fake terror funding claims. Separately, authorities arrested seven armed men in a forest who claimed they were searching for their ancestors' buried treasure.

A woman in Indore was defrauded of Rs 29.7 lakh after being deceived by fraudsters in a digital arrest scam, Additional DCP of the Crime Branch, Rajesh Dandotiya, said.

Speaking to ANI on Friday, Dandotiya said, "Fraudsters deceived a woman by claiming that money from a terrorist organisation in Jammu and Kashmir had been laundered into her account. They cheated her out of Rs 29,70,000. The elderly woman had recently returned to India after visiting her children in the USA. A case of fraud has been registered, and an investigation is currently underway." The incident highlights the growing sophistication of digital scams, and authorities have urged citizens to exercise caution and verify any such claims before transferring money or sharing personal banking details.

7 Arrested in Forest with Weapons

In a separate development this week, Indore's Forest Department arrested seven people for illegally entering a nearby forest with weapons on December 8. The accused explained that they were merely trying to dig out their ancestors' gold and treasure, claiming that it was buried in the jungle. The team inspected them and found they were carrying multiple weapons. That included a pistol, a cartridge (kartoos), and a sword, which immediately raised the forest department's suspicion and led to their being booked under the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA) of 1972 and the Indian Forest Act (IFA) of 1927, as stated by DFO Pradeep Mishra.

When speaking to ANI, he maintained the stance that the story by the arrested individuals was not to be believed. Additionally, he stated they were likely there to hunt wildlife due to unlawful entry in the forest at night. "We received information from the patrolling team about seven people roaming the Malendi Jungle on 8 December, around 8:30 P.M. The team reached there swiftly and started questioning them. They were confused at first and then started making up a story about how they were there to dig out the gold left behind by their ancestors. On further inspection, we found katta, kartoos and talwaar, which makes us believe that they were attempting to hunt at night. We have released POs under the WFA and IFA Act for the same.", DFO Pradeep Mishra officially added. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)