Overview

• Delhi Police’s IFSO unit registered an FIR on September 19 based on Naresh Malhotra’s complaint and has launched a probe.
• The 78-year-old was forced to report on frequent video calls from August 4 to September 4, shown fake court and bail papers, and coerced to liquidate shares and transfer funds.
• Police say Rs 12.11 crore has been traced and frozen across multiple accounts, though some earlier reports cited lower frozen amounts as the money was quickly rerouted.
• In a separate case in Bengaluru, police recovered Rs 14 lakh lost by MP K. Sudhakar’s wife after acting within the ‘golden hour,’ freezing the account via helpline 1930 and securing a court-ordered refund.
• Other recent reports include a Dwarka couple allegedly losing ₹6.2 lakh and an FIR after a hoax call to Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murthy, as agencies reiterate that “digital arrest” has no legal basis and promote tools like the Sanchar Saathi app.