In one of Madhya Pradesh’s largest cyber fraud cases, six individuals were arrested from Nagda, in the Ujjain district, in connection with a Rs2.5 crore digital arrest scam. The arrests were made by the Gwalior Crime Branch following crucial leads, which revealed the disturbing misuse of digital tools to extort funds from Swami Sudiptanand, the Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission in Gwalior.
The victim, Swami Sudiptanand, was held in digital captivity for 26 days, during which he was subjected to psychological manipulation and threats. These tactics led to the illegal transfer of Ra2.5 crore from his bank account. The suspects allegedly impersonated enforcement authorities, using fake legal threats to pressure the spiritual leader into online compliance and forced payments.
According to Ratan Singh Rathore from the Gwalior Crime Branch, investigation of the transaction trails revealed that a significant portion of the defrauded funds was linked to the bank accounts of the arrested individuals.
As confirmed by Nagda Police Station In-Charge, Amritlal Gawli, the six individuals apprehended are:
RahuI Kahar (22, Chetanpura, Nagda)
Tushar Game (26, Shriram Colony, Nagda)
Karan Vinagya (19, Local resident)
Shubham Rathore (23, Local resident)
Vishwajeet Barman (42, Lonad City, Ratlam)
Kajal Jaiswal (27, Indira Nagar, Ujjain)
Kajal Jaiswal, a former employee of Bandhan Bank (Nagda branch), is believed to have played a key role in facilitating the bank transactions. Investigators found that Rs9.90 lakh of the defrauded funds were routed through the suspects’ accounts.
The alleged ringleader, Uday Mahendra Kumar, is still absconding. Investigators uncovered WhatsApp chat logs from Uday’s phone, which pointed to the involvement of the arrested individuals and revealed how they executed the scam. The chat logs showed how Swami Sudiptanand was kept under intense psychological pressure and manipulated digitally into transferring large sums of money.
Authorities are continuing to trace the digital money trail, examining call records, and investigating potential roles played by bank insiders who may have facilitated the scam. The law enforcement agencies believe that more arrests are likely as the full scope of the network involved in the scam becomes clearer.
