Delhi man duped of Rs 25 lakh in 'digital arrest' scam, 3 arrested

Delhi Police arrested three men for cheating a senior citizen of Rs 25 lakh through a fake "digital arrest" scam. The fraudsters posed as police, misused Aadhaar data, and operated via WhatsApp from hotel rooms.

Image Credit: iSTOCK

Three fraudsters were arrested for allegedly cheating a senior citizen of ₹25 lakh using a fake “digital arrest” tactic, Delhi Police said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Rahul Verma, Shantanu Richoriya, and Arjun Singh, were nabbed after an intense investigation involving technical surveillance and money trail analysis.

According to police, the complaint was filed by Mahender Jain, a resident of Raj Nagar, Palam Colony. Jain said he received a WhatsApp video call on March 21 from a man identifying himself as Sanjay, a Crime Branch inspector from Nashik Police.

The caller claimed Jain’s Aadhaar number had been used to create a fraudulent debit or credit card in Canara Bank, which was allegedly linked to money laundering by a major airline company owner.

Threatened with legal consequences, the senior citizen panicked. He emptied his savings and fixed deposits, sold his wife's jewellery, and transferred nearly ₹25 lakh through Paytm and RTGS to unknown bank accounts.

Following a preliminary enquiry, a case under sections 318(2), 61(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at the Cyber Police Station in South West Delhi.

Police said the accused operated from hotel rooms in Delhi, using fake WhatsApp accounts and handling "mule" bank account holders brought in from across India. These accounts were used to receive and transfer the duped money to international handlers.

After gathering evidence, a raid was conducted in Delhi’s Paharganj area, leading to the arrest of the trio. Police recovered mobile phones, SIM cards, bank passbooks, cheque books, and the primary SIM used in the scam.

During interrogation, accused Rahul Verma confessed to initially providing his account for the frauds. Seeing the profits, he joined the network full-time and began recruiting others for mule accounts.

The group used secret WhatsApp groups, fake identities, and coordinated with international scam operators to evade law enforcement. So far, police have traced 7–8 mule accounts linked to the gang. Further raids are underway to arrest additional suspects.

Investigation is ongoing.