Bengaluru cyber fraud: Elderly couple digitally arrested, duped of ₹4.7 crore by fake CBI officers

An elderly couple in Bengaluru were digitally arrested and duped of ₹4.7 crore by cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officers. The accused threatened them via video calls and syphoned money in a major Bengaluru cyber fraud case.

Bengaluru: The Southeast division CEN police in Bengaluru have arrested two members of a cyber fraud gang for impersonating CBI officers and defrauding an elderly couple of ₹4.70 crore over a period of one and a half months.

The arrested individuals, identified as Ishwar Singh and Paramesh Ramcharan, are both residents of Andhra Pradesh. Preliminary investigations have revealed that a portion of the defrauded amount was transferred to accounts held by foreign nationals.

Posing as CBI officers to extort money

According to the police, the accused first contacted the elderly victim, a retired engineer who had worked in Nigeria for over three decades and currently resides in JP Nagar with his family. On March 19, he received a call from someone claiming to be a representative of SBI’s customer service department.

The caller falsely informed him that illegal transactions had been made using his credit card and bank accounts. The victim was then contacted by another person claiming to be a CBI officer. In a video call, the fraudster even used a police station image as his background to lend credibility to the claim.

He further threatened arrest and claimed that a court warrant had already been issued. In exchange for dropping the charges, the fraudster demanded money to “settle” the matter. Convinced by the ruse, the elderly couple transferred ₹4.70 crore in multiple installments.

Threats continued even after money was drained

Even after exhausting the couple’s savings, the accused continued to intimidate them with threats. The victims eventually confided in their relatives, who immediately alerted the police. A complaint was filed at the CEN police station, leading to the launch of an investigation.

Follow the money: Digital trail leads to arrests

Police tracked the money trail through banking transactions and mobile call records. The investigation revealed that ₹10 lakh had been transferred to Ishwar’s account and ₹1.80 crore to Ramcharan’s account. Both were subsequently arrested.

Foreign links and casino spending uncovered

During interrogation, the accused confessed to having opened the bank accounts in exchange for a commission. Investigators also discovered that part of the stolen funds was spent by Ramcharan in a casino in Sri Lanka. The police suspect that the kingpin of the operation is based abroad and are working to trace the broader network.