AMU professor duped of Rs 75 lakh in 'digital arrest' fraud

Aligarh (UP), Oct 13: A retired Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor was allegedly duped of more than Rs 75 lakhs by fraudsters posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) and putting her under 'digital arrest' for 10 days, police said on Sunday.

An FIR was lodged on Friday by Qamar Jahan and the police immediately issued an alert to the banks concerned. Police found that the money had been routed through 21 different bank accounts, they said.

Transactions worth Rs 13 lakh were blocked due to police intervention, they said.

Cyber police station inspector VD Panday, who is investigating the case told PTI that the victim was kept under "digital arrest for more than 10 days" during which the accused pressured Jahan to pay money to avoid arrest.

'Digital arrest' is a new cyber fraud, where the accused poses as law enforcement agency officials, like CBI or customs officials or ED, and threatens people of arrest by making video calls in the name of fake international parcels of banned drugs or money laundering cases.

The complainant told the police that she received the first call on September 28. The accused posed an Enforcement Directorate official and told her that she had conducted some dubious transactions, involving her in a money laundering case.

To avoid arrest, Jahan must deposit some money to the Court, the accused told the victim. He gave her some bank account numbers and the victim complied with the demands and deposited more than Rs 75 lakh.

However, two days ago she sensed that she had been duped and filed a complaint at the police station, they said.

During the past few weeks, several cases of digital arrest have been reported in the state. The police have issued advisories to the public stating that there is no provision for digital arrest.