Jamnagar police arrested three individuals involved in orchestrating a high-profile cyber fraud that forced a 55-year-old victim to transfer Rs 13 lakh last March. The accused, Savan Vanzara (27) and Chandresh Bhut (27), both insurance agents, along with their accomplice Bharat Govani, acted as intermediaries to channel fraudulent funds through the victim’s bank accounts.
Using a sophisticated ‘digital arrest’ scam, the trio threatened the victim by impersonating officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch, police, and CBI. The victim was digitally confined for two hours in front of his computer screen, pressured to transfer funds online. “The victim’s Rs 13 lakh were transferred to a Rajasthan bank account, with Rs 5 lakh subsequently moved to an account held by Vanzara and Bhut,” said I A Ghasura, inspector of the Cybercrime police station.
Investigation revealed that Vanzara and Bhut had opened a current account rented to cybercriminals, facilitating transactions totaling Rs 58 lakh. Police are actively tracing the recipients of withdrawals made by Govani.
The fraud began on March 22 last year when the victim received a call from an unknown number. The caller, posing as a courier company representative, claimed a parcel containing passports, credit cards, drugs, and laptops linked to the victim’s Aadhaar number was intercepted. Threatened with a narcotics case, the victim was instructed to visit Mumbai. Unable to travel, he was connected via conference call to a supposed Mumbai Crime Branch officer, who sent a fake CBI letter via WhatsApp.
Frightened, the victim shared his bank details and was coerced to transfer 87% of his funds with a promise of refund after verification. He was held before a mobile screen for hours, but after questioning the refund, the call was abruptly disconnected.
