A 32-year-old man from Rajasthan has been arrested for his role in a Rs43.2 lakh ‘digital arrest’ scam, where cybercriminals posed as law enforcement officers to extort money from unsuspecting victims.
The accused, Madan Kumar, hailing from Hanumangarh, operated a Customer Service Point (CSP) outlet and used a current account in a private bank to route over Rs40 lakh for the scammers. Police have seized two mobile phones from his possession as part of the investigation.
The arrest follows a complaint filed on August 31 by a woman from Sector 62, Noida, who alleged that she was contacted by fraudsters posing as government officials. The callers falsely accused her of involvement in money laundering and placed her under a ‘digital arrest’, using fake documents and video calls to intimidate her into transferring Rs43.2 lakh into multiple bank accounts.
After receiving the complaint, police registered a case under the following sections:
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS):
Section 308(2): Extortion
Section 318(4): Cheating
Section 319(2): Cheating by personation
Section 66D of the Information Technology Act: Impersonation using electronic communication
Authorities also froze the accounts used in the scam.
During interrogation, Madan Kumar confessed to working as a money mule for cybercriminals. He admitted to receiving a commission of Rs7.8 lakh for allowing fraudulent transactions through his CSP outlet account.
Police are continuing their probe into the broader cybercrime syndicate behind the scam, with more arrests expected in the coming days.
