The Cyber Crime Police Station recently arrested Diwakar Varun Jha, 30, a resident of Taloje Majkur, Maharashtra, in connection with a Rs 2.8 crore cyber fraud in Goa.
From September 4 to October 9, Jha allegedly impersonated an Enforcement Directorate officer over WhatsApp and manipulated a resident of Cansaulim, South Goa, claiming his Aadhaar card was being used in a money-laundering case. The victim was placed under “digital arrest” and coerced to transfer Rs 2.8 crore in four RTGS transactions.
Police investigations revealed that Rs 50 lakh was received in Jha’s bank account and subsequently routed to multiple accounts of his associates. Further probing uncovered that Jha’s accounts were linked to 11 other cyber fraud cases across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, and Goa, totaling nearly Rs 7.5 crore.
A police team led by PSI Manesh Dabhale under PI Deepak Pednekar tracked and arrested Jha in Raigarh, Maharashtra. He has been remanded in police custody, and further investigations are ongoing.
