Ajmer, Rajasthan: Months after an 82-year-old woman from Ajmer was defrauded of Rs 80 lakh by scammers posing as officials from the Mumbai Cyber Crime branch, authorities have arrested the main accused, Sovan Mandal, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
In a disturbing case of cyber fraud, the elderly victim was manipulated over eight days, threatened with a ‘digital arrest,’ and coerced into transferring a massive sum of money. According to SP Cyber Crime, Shantanu Kumar Singh, the incident occurred between November 23 and November 30, 2024. The scammers contacted the woman through WhatsApp video calls, falsely claiming to be Mumbai Cyber Crime officers.
Using fear and confusion, they convinced her that she was involved in a legal case and needed to transfer money to avoid arrest. After the case was initially registered in Ajmer, it was transferred to the Rajasthan Cyber Crime Police Station in Jaipur for further investigation.
Authorities traced the Rs 80 lakh to a single bank account belonging to Sovan Mandal (30), a resident of Dhuliya, Howrah, West Bengal. Mandal was arrested and is currently under interrogation.
Investigations revealed that the stolen funds were quickly dispersed into over 150 different bank accounts. Police suspect the money was being converted into USDT cryptocurrency via coordinated cash withdrawals, complicating the tracking process.
So far, 18 individuals linked to the fraud ring have been arrested. Police recovered Rs 13 lakh in cash, 27 mobile phones, 43 debit cards, 19 bank passbooks, 15 cheque books, 16 SIM cards, 13 PAN/Aadhaar cards, a laptop, and a Swift VDI car.
SP Singh noted that the gang used commissions from the scam to fund lavish lifestyles. The cybercrime unit believes this network is connected to several other fraud cases nationwide.
Authorities have urged citizens to stay vigilant and avoid falling victim to similar scams. They emphasized that law enforcement agencies never demand money over calls or digital platforms and advised reporting suspicious activity immediately to the cybercrime helpline.
