Mumbai doctor duped of ₹3 crore, held under ‘digital arrest’ for 8 days

Mumbai: In a shocking case of cybercrime, a 70-year-old doctor in Mumbai lost ₹3 crore to online fraudsters who kept her under "digital arrest" for eight days, convincing her that she was involved in a fabricated money laundering case, a police official said on Saturday.

The incident began in May when the victim received a call from a man identifying himself as Amit Kumar, an employee of the telecom department. He claimed that a SIM card had been purchased using her personal details and was being used for illegal activities.

Shortly after, another individual posing as a Crime Branch officer named Samadhan Pawar contacted her. He alleged that the victim’s bank account and debit card details had been discovered during a raid on the residence of an airline company owner who had been previously arrested for money laundering and was currently out on medical bail.

To add credibility to the scam, the fraudsters sent the victim several forged documents, allegedly from investigation agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). A man in police uniform also spoke to her husband via video call, further cementing the ruse.

The victim was then subjected to what the fraudsters called a “digital arrest” — kept under continuous video surveillance for eight days. During this time, she was forced to report to the fraudsters every hour. Driven by fear and convinced she was under investigation, the doctor transferred ₹3 crore to multiple bank accounts provided by the scammers.

The victim finally approached the West Region Cyber Police Station on June 5, following which a case was registered. During the investigation, it was discovered that the accused had already converted ₹82 lakh of the stolen money into cryptocurrency.

Police said efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend the culprits and recover the stolen funds.

With PTI inputs