In a significant breakthrough, Cyber Police Kashmir has successfully resolved a Rs21 lakh digital fraud case, arresting three individuals and recovering Rs4.13 lakh from the accused. The scam, which involved the impersonation of officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), came to light following a complaint from a senior citizen in Srinagar.
Addressing the media, SSP Srinagar Imtiyaz Ahmed revealed that the victim was coerced into transferring Rs21 lakh after fraudsters falsely accused him of being involved in a fabricated money laundering case worth Rs6.8 crores. The scammers further intimidated the victim by issuing fake arrest warrants, claiming that their conversation was a “national secret,” and instructed him to lock his house and refrain from communicating with anyone.
Under duress, the victim prematurely closed his fixed deposits and transferred the entire amount to a fraudulent HDFC Bank account, after being assured of a refund within hours. The police registered an FIR and launched an in-depth investigation using advanced technical tools to trace the culprits.
Following a multi-state investigation, teams were dispatched to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab, resulting in the arrest of Gaurav Kumar (Shamli, Uttar Pradesh), Gurpreet Singh (Patiala, Punjab), and Ujjawal Chauhan (also from Patiala). Police seized crucial evidence, including four mobile phones, a MacBook, 13 SIM cards, 24 debit cards, 20 chequebooks, 10 passbooks, and other incriminating materials.
The police managed to credit Rs4.13 lakh back to the victim’s account, and further investigations are ongoing to identify other conspirators involved in the scam and dismantle the larger criminal network.