Digital arrest (AI-generated representative image)

Kanpur man loses Rs 48 lakh to fake CBI officers, 3 arrested in Rs 1.42-crore fraud

Kanpur Cyber Police arrested three people accused of posing as Mumbai Crime Branch and CBI officers in a digital arrest scam. The case widened after bank staff flagged a suspicious attempt to encash an FD, leading investigators to forged documents, money trails and linked complaints.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Fraud surfaced when the victim approached a bank to break his FD
  • Staff grew suspicious and alerted police, triggering a deeper cyber probe
  • Investigators found a company account allegedly opened with forged identity documents

A gang allegedly involved in cyber fraud worth around Rs 1.42 crore in the name of “digital arrest” has been arrested by the Kanpur Cyber Police. The arrested accused have been identified as Vasu, Atish Kumar and Kanchan Prajapati, while Mukul Chaubey is absconding.

According to police, the accused called Yogesh Chandra Mishra, a resident of Swaroop Nagar, and introduced themselves as officers of the Mumbai Crime Branch/CBI.

They allegedly threatened him with legal action and, in the name of a digital arrest, got him to transfer around Rs 48.20 lakh to different bank accounts.

According to police, the fraud came to light when the victim went to the bank to break an FD worth around Rs 1 crore. Bank employees turned suspicious and informed the police, following which the investigation was taken forward.

The investigation revealed that the accused had created a firm named Baukoyo Contractors Private Limited using forged documents and opened a bank account in its name.

Around Rs 25.98 lakh was deposited into this account through 15 transactions, which was transferred on the same day to around 611 bank accounts across different states.

Police have recovered several digital pieces of evidence from the accused’s mobile phones, including bank account details, forged documents, call records and WhatsApp chats.

An investigation on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) revealed four cybercrime cases linked to these accounts.

- Ends