Delhi police have arrested three individuals in connection with a digital arrest scam in which an 82-year-old woman from Hauz Khas, south Delhi, was duped of Rs1.6 crore. The accused impersonated law enforcement officials, threatening the victim over a WhatsApp video call with a fake arrest order.
The arrested have been identified as Prabhakar Kumar (27), Rupesh Kumar Singh (37), and Dev Raj (46). The incident occurred on April 25, when the victim, home alone as her daughter was abroad and her husband a retired government official, was psychologically pressured into transferring funds.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam formed a team under ACP (Crime) Anil Sharma. Multiple raids in Himachal Pradesh and Bihar led to the arrests. Investigations revealed that a major portion of the stolen Rs1.10 crore was routed to an NGO account in Himachal Pradesh, operated by fraudsters based in Patna, Bihar. The account had 32 complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), totaling around Rs24 crore.
Police said Prabhakar Kumar installed a malicious APK on Dev Raj’s phone to activate SIM cards linked to fraudulent bank accounts. He maintained contact with cyber fraudsters via virtual WhatsApp numbers, received commissions, and distributed proceeds among associates.
Rupesh Singh received the NGO’s current account kit, coordinated meetings in Patna, and facilitated fraudulent transactions. Dev Raj, with knowledge of his father Ved Prakash (the authorised signatory), opened the NGO account and shared internet banking credentials and OTPs, traveling to Patna to execute transactions and claim his share.
