Mangaluru police arrest Kerala man allegedly involved in ‘digital arrest’ case

Mangaluru police arrest man for extorting ₹1.71 crore digitally; another man arrested for cheating resident of ₹10.84 lakh.

The Mangaluru city police have arrested a 22-year-old man from Mavoor in Kozhikode district of Kerala who was allegedly involved in extorting ₹ 1.71 crore by ‘digitally arresting’ a resident of Mangaluru.

The police gave name of the accused as A. Akash.

In the complaint to Cyber Economic and Narcotic Crime (CEN) police station, the victim said he received a call from a person who claimed himself as an officer of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller told the victim that another mobile number registered in latter’s name was being used for illegal activities, including for harassing people by promising good returns on investment, and a case for the same is registered in Andheri East Police Station in Mumbai.

Further the caller said an account in victim’s name has been opened in Canara Bank in Andheri branch and it was being used for cheating people. The caller threatened that a sim card has been purchased using the bank account of the victim for identity. The caller asked the victim to confine himself to a room (digital arrest). Later the victim paid a total of ₹ 1.71 crore to fraudsters in installments.

Following the compliant, the CEN police tracked the trail of accounts to which the amounts were transferred by the victim. During this, the CEN police found Akash withdrawing ₹ 7 lakh from an account. A team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Ravish Nayak and Police Inspector M.P. Satish arrested Akash in Kerala. Search is on for other accused persons allegedly associated with Akash, the police said.

Investment fraud

The CEN police have arrested K. Jaffer, 49, of Pullapatta in Mallapuram district of Kerala for his alleged involvement in cheating a Mangaluru resident of ₹ 10.84 lakh.