A 76-year-old woman named Manju Ganguly, a resident of DumDum Park in Laketown, Kolkata, was swindled out of Rs 11 lakh in a digital arrest scam in December last year. The accused, 20-year-old Mahesh Kumar, was arrested in Alwar, Rajasthan, this Tuesday.
According to reports, Mahesh Kumar—identified as a resident of Baskripalnagar, Kishangarh, Rajasthan—was tracked and apprehended by officials from Laketown police station after weeks of investigation.
Ganguly had filed a complaint under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), accusing the scammer of cheating and fraud. She reported that the accused impersonated an officer from the Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch and reached her via a WhatsApp video call, during which he falsely claimed that her Aadhaar card had been linked to illegal activities.
These alleged crimes included unauthorized SIM card activations, fake gambling ads, and even sexual harassment reports. The scammer, dressed in a police uniform, told Ganguly that she was being “digitally arrested” and held her under continuous video surveillance for two days.
Using psychological pressure and threats, the accused coerced her into transferring her life savings to a bank account he provided. The elaborate deception kept Ganguly isolated and convinced of the false charges.
Kolkata police successfully traced the suspect’s IP address and mobile location, which led to Mahesh Kumar’s arrest. Authorities have launched further investigations into the extent of the scam and any possible accomplices.
