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Ludhiana: 80-year-old retd principal held under ‘digital arrest’ for 5 days, duped of 47L

By, Ludhiana
Jan 16, 2025 10:47 PM IST

The accused scammed the victim, Sushila Verma from of Rajguru Nagar, after instilling fear by claiming that she was involved in money laundering

In yet another incident of cyber fraud in the city, an 80-year-old retired school principal was allegedly held under ‘digital arrest’ for five days and duped of over 47 lakh, officials said.

Cops say modus operandi similar to SP Oswal case, same mastermind likely behind both crimes. (HT File)
Cops say modus operandi similar to SP Oswal case, same mastermind likely behind both crimes. (HT File)

They added that the accused scammed the victim, Sushila Verma from of Rajguru Nagar, after instilling fear by claiming that she was involved in money laundering.

The accused made her transfer 47.3 lakh in a bank accounts as ‘security’, promising to return the money once ‘things were cleared’.

A first-information report (FIR) was registered against unidentified accused at the cyber crime police station and an investigation was launched.

The incident comes less than four months after Vardhman Group head and Padma Bhushan awardee SP Oswal, 82, was duped for 7 crore in a similar manner.

Police said the modus operandi used this time is similar to the Oswal case, and they suspect the same mastermind is behind the two incidents.

The victim said in her complaint that she received a call from an unidentified number on January 7. The caller introduced himself as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer and accused her of using a Mumbai-based bank account for laundering money linked to a private airline carrier.

She alleged that the accused sent her fake arrest warrants and warned her against disclosing the matter to anyone.

The complainant said the fraudsters intimidated her by a video call from what appeared to be a CBI office. Verma said she was convinced of their legitimacy and transferred the money in multiple transactions to bank accounts provided by the accused.

She claimed the accused told her that the money was needed for a forensic examination of her transactions.

The complainant said the fraudsters promised the money would be returned within 72 hours. Verma alleged that the accused kept her under digital surveillance via video calls. She approached the police after realising that she had been duped.

Cyber crime station-house officer (SHO) inspector Jatinder Singh said a case was registered under sections 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing someone to deliver property), 338 (forgery of valuable documents), 336 (3) (forgery), 340 (2) (use of forged documents or electronic records) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). He said police are working with the banks concerned to identify the account holders who received the money.

Earlier on January 9, cyber criminals posing as CBI and police officers allegedly duped an 81-year-old retired army officer of over 35 lakh.

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