Retd scientist loses Rs 1.29cr in digital arrest scam, 4 held
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The accused convinced Shukdev Nandi — a retired scientist from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute — that his Aadhaar card had been used for human trafficking and job fraud. They claimed his bank account was under investigation and tricked him into transferring the money into multiple bank accounts over three days for a fake audit.
According to police, Nandi received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number displaying the Bengaluru City Police logo.
The caller claimed that Nandi's Aadhaar was misused for activating a SIM card involved in human trafficking and financial fraud. He was then directed to speak to a 'CBI officer' named Dayanayak.
Through psychological coercion, Nandi was "digitally arrested" for three days and compelled to transfer Rs 1.29 crore into various bank accounts under the guise of a CBI audit. Realising he was duped, he lodged an FIR on June 26 at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Bareilly under BNS sections 318(4), 319(2), 308(6), 61(2), 111 and IT Act 66D).
STF UP began technical surveillance and intelligence gathering. Acting on a tip-off, STF officials led by inspector Anjani Kumar Pandey arrested the accused from near Gomtinagar extension flyover in Lucknow.
The accused were identified as Shyam Kumar, Rajneesh Dwivedi, Sudhir Kumar Chaurasia and Mahendra Pratap Singh alias Chandan Singh. Six mobile phones, ATM cards and four cheque books were receovered from them.
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Pandey told TOI that during interrogation, Sudhir Chaurasia confessed that he was introduced to a man named Ankit in Varanasi four months ago. Ankit connected him to Deepak, who operated a fake company that offered commissions for sharing bank account details. Sudhir roped in Shyam, Rajneesh and Mahendra to manage bank accounts. Deepak allegedly sent a handler named Faiz to collect the withdrawn cash, which was later converted into USDT cryptocurrency and transferred to a Trust Wallet.
Faiz reportedly worked with two more men, Siraj Ali and Gufran, both from Lucknow.
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