Overview
- The North Region Cyber Police arrested Ravi Ambore, 35, and Vishwapal Jadhav, 37, after a retired bank employee was coerced into transferring Rs 50.50 lakh between September 11 and 24 via WhatsApp and video calls.
- Scammers posed as Nashik Police, sent forged FIRs, government-sealed letters and fake NIA IDs, and kept the victim and his wife on continuous video call under threats of immediate arrest.
- An FIR was registered on October 9 under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act for what police classify as a “digital arrest” fraud.
- Investigators traced an initial Rs 29.5 lakh to an Ulhasnagar account holder who admitted providing bank details for a commission, seized a phone, and found the same accounts linked to at least seven similar cases nationwide.
- Separately, the East Region Cyber Police registered an FIR after a retired government officer reported losing Rs 71.24 lakh to callers who invoked Abu Salem’s name, with efforts under way to trace the accused and recover funds.