Three men, including Dhaval Bhai Shah (34), Tarun Natani (24), and Karan Shamdasani (28), have been arrested for defrauding a software engineer of Rs 11.8 crore in a ‘digital arrest’ scam. The arrests were made on January 10, with Shah apprehended in Ahmedabad and Natani and Shamdasani caught in Ulasnagar, Thane district.
Police have seized Rs 3.7 crore from the accused’s various bank accounts, while efforts are underway to apprehend other gang members. Authorities suspect that the kingpin of the operation is based in Dubai, where the fraud was allegedly coordinated.
The victim, 39-year-old Vijay Kumar, was allegedly kept under ‘digital arrest’ for a month. According to the police, the fraudsters impersonated police officials and misused the victim’s Aadhaar card to open bank accounts for money laundering.
The scam began on November 11, when Kumar received a call from someone claiming to be an officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), informing him that his SIM card linked to his Aadhaar was involved in illegal activities. Later, a fraudster pretending to be a police officer threatened Kumar with arrest unless he cooperated in an investigation. The victim transferred Rs 11.8 crore to various accounts over time, fearing imminent arrest.
However, the fraudsters’ continuous demands for more money prompted Kumar to realize he had been scammed, leading to his complaint to the police.