The Cyber Crime Wing of Tambaram City Police has arrested two men in Odisha in connection with a digital arrest scam that defrauded a woman of Rs1.24 crore.
According to police, the victim, Saroja, was contacted in 2024 by fraudsters impersonating officials from India Post International Service. They falsely accused her of sending a parcel containing illegal drugs using her Aadhaar card for identification. The fraudsters threatened her with arrest via a forged letter allegedly signed by a DSP.
To avoid arrest, the victim was instructed to transfer money to an account labeled ‘RBI Government Account’ for verification. Trusting the scammers’ assurances of a refund after verification, she transferred Rs1.24 crore.
Investigations revealed that Rs40 lakh of this amount was transferred to an IndusInd Bank account jointly held by Davath Praveen Kumar of Karimnagar, Telangana, and Mallavarappu Ramesh Gandhi, also from Telangana.
Police traced and arrested two suspects: Davath Praveen Kumar and Aakash Mohanty from Nayagarh, Odisha, who is an associate of Mallavarappu Ramesh Gandhi. The arrests were made with assistance from Odisha Police.
Authorities seized eight smartphones, two ATM cards, seven SIM cards, three cheque books, one laptop, a car valued at Rs15 lakh, and cash worth ₹1 lakh from the accused. Eight bank accounts linked to the accused have been frozen for ongoing investigations. Both were brought to Tambaram and remanded to judicial custody.
