Two men, Mukesh Saxena (50) and Anees Ahmed (39), were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a Rs2.4 crore cyber fraud involving a fake “digital arrest” scheme. The duo, residents of Moradabad, were apprehended following leads from local intelligence and confidential tip-offs.
Earlier this month, on May 6, police had arrested Pushpendra, a native of Mathura, who was linked to the same scam. Investigators uncovered that the suspects were part of a larger cybercrime syndicate. The gang reportedly impersonated law enforcement officials from the police and the CBI to extort money from unsuspecting victims, claiming to digitally arrest them under false accusations, such as human trafficking.
According to DCP (Cyber) Preeti Yadav, the accused posed as police officers and coerced the complainant into transferring Rs2.4 crore under the threat of legal action. So far, Rs6.7 lakh of the defrauded amount has been recovered, and the refund process has begun.
Investigations revealed that Rs2 crore was held in Saxena’s bank account, Rs18 lakh of which belonged to the current complainant. The remainder is connected to at least 18 other cybercrime complaints filed across various states via the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
Similarly, Rs12 crore was found in Ahmed’s account, with links to 15 different complaints also lodged through the NCRP.
Authorities have frozen the implicated bank accounts and registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)—308(2) for extortion, 319(2) for cheating by personation, 318(4) for cheating—as well as Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. Investigations are ongoing to locate other members of the gang.
