CBI searches 89 locations across 20 states, arrests three over ‘digital arrest’ cases

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted coordinated searches at 89 locations across 20 states and arrested three people in a nationwide crackdown on cybercrime syndicates allegedly involved in ‘digital arrest’ cases, officers said on Friday.The searches covered 89 locations across 20 states and were linked to three cases involving victims allegedly defrauded of over ₹42 crore through digital arrest scams.The searches and arrests were carried out as part of the CBI’s probes into three cybercrime cases, officers said on Friday. The three cases, including one pertaining to Gujarat, are among several digital arrest fraud cases in which the CBI took over investigations from police units in multiple states, officials said. The Gujarat case involves the alleged duping of a victim of ₹19.24 crore after the person was kept under illegal digital arrest for three months by fraudsters posing as police officers investigating a crime.The second case, from Pilani in Rajasthan, pertains to the alleged duping of a victim of ₹7.67 crore during a three-month illegal confinement under ‘digital arrest’ by persons posing as police officers. The victim belongs to a reputed private deemed university in Pilani.The third case pertains to Karnataka, where a victim was allegedly kept under digital arrest for a month and defrauded of ₹15.45 crore, officials said.During the searches, the CBI teams focused on tracing the trail of fraud proceeds, unearthing conspirators and beneficiaries of fraud proceeds, and seizing purportedly incriminating material before it could be tampered with or destroyed, officials said.“The operations were meticulously planned on the basis of detailed financial and technical analysis, including examination of bank accounts, and online account access data,” a CBI official said.During the search operations, the CBI arrested three persons, whose examination revealed their specific and material role in receiving, layering and dispersing the fraud proceeds to project them as untainted funds.One of the arrested persons was Akash, a resident of Haryana, who was allegedly found to have received ₹1.95 crore of the defrauded amount in his account. He allegedly opened the account and then swiftly transferred the funds to other accounts on the same day, establishing his direct role and knowledge in laundering the proceeds of crime.The second person arrested was identified as Raja, a resident of Kolkata, West Bengal, who allegedly received ₹1.5 crore of the fraud proceeds in his firm’s account. A woman identified as Jyoti was also arrested after her bank account was allegedly found to have received part of a victim’s defrauded sum. She allegedly withdrew a portion of the money in cash and transferred the rest to other accounts, thereby actively participating in dispersing the funds to obscure their trail.“Efforts are underway to track down and apprehend the remaining accused involved in the wider network/s,” the officer said.The crackdown was conducted as part of a CBI ongoing operation, internally code-named ‘Operation Chakra –VI’, to strike against nationwide syndicates behind several ‘digital arrest’ fraud cases, in which cybercriminals impersonating enforcement and government officials coerced victims into transferring large sums of money after threatening them on false pretexts.Taking serious note of the alarming scale of these crimes, the Supreme Court of India has also directed the CBI to take concerted action against the perpetrators and the wider networks facilitating offences like ‘digital arrest’.“The CBI remains firmly resolved to act decisively against digital -arrest crimes and organised cyber-crime networks, in line with the directions of the Supreme Court, and to bring every person involved in these offences to justice,” the officer said.