Man arrested for duping senior citizen of ₹6 crore in ‘digital arrest’ scam

The accused has been identified as Tushar Harishchandra Vajantri, 28, a resident of Kokban in Raigad district. He was arrested on Friday from Panvel

The Pune city cyber police have arrested an individual from Raigad district in connection with a ‘digital arrest’ scam wherein a senior citizen was duped of a staggering ₹6 crore.

The Pune city cyber police have arrested an individual from Raigad district in connection with a ‘digital arrest’ scam wherein a senior citizen was duped of a staggering ₹6 crore. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The accused has been identified as Tushar Harishchandra Vajantri, 28, a resident of Kokban in Raigad district. He was arrested on Friday from Panvel.

The scam came to light between November 9 and November 19, 2024 when a senior citizen lodged a complaint that he had been falsely implicated in a fabricated case through a video call by people posing as law enforcement officials and government representatives. The accused used intimidation tactics, claiming that the victim was involved in illegal activities and convinced him to transfer ₹6.29 crore to avoid legal action and ‘digital arrest’.

During the investigation, the accused mule account holder made two fixed deposits (FDs) in the bank of ₹90 lakh and ₹20 lakh. After getting information about it, the accused was tracked down through digital surveillance, IP tracking, and banking transaction trails. A team of cyber officers successfully nabbed the suspect from Panvel and brought him to Pune for further investigation.