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Hardev Singh and Surinder Pal Singh of Sarojini Nagar lost Rs 1.29 crore in a six-day cyber fraud after fake CBI officers threatened them with digital arrest in Uttar Pradesh
Police said the victims were pressured into transferring their life savings through RTGS to accounts provided by the fraudsters. (Representative image)
In yet another shocking case of cyber fraud in Uttar Pradesh, a 100-year-old man and his son were allegedly trapped in a “digital arrest” for six days and cheated of more than Rs 1.29 crore. Police said the victims, Hardev Singh and his 70-year-old son Surinder Pal Singh, were terrorised over phone calls by men posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers.
The father-son duo, residents of Sarojini Nagar, received repeated threats from the callers, who accused them of money laundering and warned of imminent arrest warrants. In fear, the victims followed the instructions of the fraudsters and transferred huge sums of money to multiple bank accounts across the country.
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The ordeal began on August 20 when Hardev Singh received a phone call from a man who introduced himself as “CBI officer Alok Singh”. The caller accused him of being involved in a money laundering racket and claimed that an arrest warrant had been issued. Singh was told he was under “digital arrest” and instructed to remain available on a WhatsApp call for further verification.
By the evening, when his son Surinder Pal Singh, a retired Merchant Navy officer, returned home, his father informed him about the threat. Hearing the mention of an arrest warrant, Surinder also panicked. Soon after, the alleged CBI officers demanded banking details, including those of their joint account in the Bank of India’s Sarojini Nagar branch.
Police said the victims were pressured into transferring their life savings through RTGS to accounts provided by the fraudsters. On August 21, Surinder transferred Rs 32 lakh to a Bank of Baroda account in Bhavnagar. The next day, Rs 45 lakh was sent to ICICI Bank’s Ponda branch, and on August 23, another Rs 45 lakh went to ICICI Bank’s Jalgaon Phata branch. Finally, on August 26, Rs 7 lakh was transferred to the same Jalgaon account.
In total, Rs 1.29 crore was siphoned off within days. The fraudsters assured the victims that the money would be returned after “verification”, but when nothing came back by August 27, Surinder realised they had been duped. He immediately contacted the cyber crime helpline 1930 and filed an FIR at the Sarojini Nagar police station.
A senior officer at Sarojini Nagar police station confirmed that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. “This is a case of organised cyber crime. Fraudsters are exploiting people by instilling fear of digital arrest,” the officer said.
Investigators are tracking the bank accounts into which the money was transferred, and the cyber cell has been roped in to trace suspicious transactions across state lines.
Authorities have urged citizens to remain alert and not to fall for calls from unknown numbers claiming to be government or investigative officers. They advised the public to immediately report such threats to the cyber helpline 1930 or the nearest cyber police station.
- Location :
Uttar Pradesh, India, India
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