NEW DELHI: A retired govt official was digitally “arrested” for 20 hours by scammers posing as law enforcement officers and duped of Rs 48 lakh. He was falsely accused of being involved in money laundering and was threatened that people were deployed to kill him if he disobeyed. He was also warned not to share the incident with anyone.
Police arrested three individuals, including an MBA graduate, who were linked to Chinese scammers and involved in over 20 similar cases. The accused have been identified as Thunga Rajkumar, Kapil Rambhau Patil, and Pushkar Chanderkant Pakhale, residents of Telangana and Maharashtra.
On March 2, Baliram, the victim, received a WhatsApp call from someone posing as a TRAI official, falsely claiming a PMLA 2002 case was registered against him at Colaba Police Station, Mumbai. Later, a video call followed from a fake sub-inspector who claimed Baliram’s Aadhaar card was used to open a fraudulent account with Rs 320 crores deposited.
Despite asserting his innocence, he was manipulated into revealing personal and financial details. The scammers impersonated a CBI officer and even a judge, showing fake legal documents to gain his trust.
He was kept on a video call for nearly 20 hours, monitored constantly, and psychologically pressured by threats, including one about people stationed outside his home to kill him or his family if he disobeyed.
He was coerced into liquidating his PPF, FDs, and transferring over Rs 48 lakh to accounts provided by the fraudsters. After three days of what he described as a “digital arrest,” Baliram reported the incident to the 1930 cybercrime helpline.
During the investigation, technical data from WhatsApp LERS revealed that the IP addresses used were traced to Hong Kong. Emails were sent to bank nodal officers for KYC and transaction details.
The money trail led to a bank account, where two transactions totaling Rs 33.9 lakh were found in an account held by a firm in Visakhapatnam. An additional Rs 1.15 crore was also credited to the same account, which had several NCRP complaints against it. Another account under the same company at the bank was also found involved.
A team tracked suspect Rajkumar to Hyderabad, where he was arrested. His phone was linked to the fraudulent transactions. He admitted to operating fake accounts for commission.
Further investigation revealed another shell company operated by Kapil Rambhau Patil and Arjun Avinash Patil from Jalgaon, Maharashtra. The company had multiple bank accounts used to channel funds from cybercrime victims. The registered office address was found to be fake.
Deputy commissioner of police (Southwest) Surendra Choudhary confirmed Patil was subsequently arrested. Pakhale was later arrested from Chalisgaon, Maharashtra.
“He would recruit people from nearby areas to open shell companies and multiple bank accounts under their names for fund rotation, offering them a cut in return. He was also involved in a 2021 fake COVID drug case investigated by the crime branch,” DCP said.
The arrests were made by a team led by Inspector Vikas Buldak.
Rajkumar studied up to Class 10, Patil is a graduate, and Pakhale holds a D. Pharma degree and an MBA.