Former principal falls victim to ‘digital arrest’ scam, loses Rs1.27 crore

A woman from Bawa Colony here, who retired as a principal of a private school, was duped of Rs 1.27 crore after being put under “digital arrest” for almost five days by conmen posing as senior CBI officials. They accused her of involvement in money laundering and “circulation of obscene content”.

According to a complaint filed with the cyber cell, Kusum Doomra, a widow, received a phone call on June 22 from an unknown number. The caller claimed that a mobile number registered in her name was being used to send obscene videos and messages in Mumbai, and 27 complaints had been lodged against her. “Another person joined the call and introduced himself as Vikram Kumar Deshmane. He claimed that my account at Canara Bank, Mumbai, had been used for suspicious transactions worth Rs 6.8 crore linked to money laundering and that the matter was under CBI investigation,” said the victim.

“Then I was forced to join a WhatsApp video call. The caller, identifying himself as Samadhan Pawar, claiming to be the CBI director, warned me not to contact anyone, threatening that my relatives could also be implicated. I was instructed to stay on camera at all times and not leave my home,” the complaint added.

She said, “During the video call, Deshmane asked me to provide details of my bank accounts, warning that all my accounts would be frozen. Citing a connection with a money laundering case involving Naresh Goyal (Jet Airways founder), the scammers told me to ‘secure’ my assets by transferring funds to accounts they provided for bail. Fearing legal consequences, I transferred Rs 1,27,00,500 between June 23 and 27 via the RTGS,”

Ramanpreet Singh Gill, DSP (Detective), Muktsar, said, “The probe is underway and the woman has lost all her life’s savings.”

Punjab