A 90-year-old former district judge in Jaipur fell victim to a sophisticated ‘digital arrest’ scam, losing Rs 2.5 crore after being manipulated by fraudsters posing as CBI and RBI officials, exposing the growing threat of cyber extortion in India.
A 90-year-old former district judge in Jaipur was cheated out of Rs 2.50 crore after fraudsters posing as CBI and Reserve Bank of India officials kept him under what Indian police describe as “digital arrest” for about 15 days, according to India Today. The case has renewed concern about a fast-growing form of cyber fraud in which criminals use fear, isolation and constant phone contact to pressure victims into sending money.
Police said the scheme began on July 28, when Ganpat Singh Bhandari received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number. The caller, dressed in a police uniform, claimed to be a CBI officer from Mumbai and told him that Rs 50 crore from a hawala transaction had been traced in the city, with Rs 40 lakh allegedly credited to Bhandari’s SBI account. A second caller later posed as an RBI manager and asked for details of his investments, according to the complaint filed by Bhandari’s nephew, Ravindra Singh Mohnot.
The fraudsters allegedly kept up a stream of threats and instructions, warning Bhandari not to tell his family and telling him to delete chats and call logs after each exchange. According to the complaint, he then transferred Rs 2,50,51,000 from his SBI account in Gandhi Nagar between August 3 and 10, including transfers of Rs 22.17 lakh and Rs 28.34 lakh on August 3, followed by several larger payments. The money was sent to multiple accounts as the callers claimed it was needed for verification and an inquiry.
The scam was interrupted only when Bhandari went to SBI’s Johari Bazaar branch on Wednesday to move more money from his Public Provident Fund account. The bank manager grew suspicious, questioned him and stopped the transfer, preventing what the complaint said would have been another Rs 1.50 crore being sent out. Jyoti Nagar police registered a case on Wednesday evening under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act and are examining the bank accounts and transactions involved.
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