3 held for extorting ₹80 lakh from Chandigarh woman by threatening arrest

The cyber crime police arrested three persons, allegedly involved in a digital arrest scam, from Rajasthan on Monday. The accused have been identified as Mahendra Nai, 27, Poonam Chand, 25, and Sandeep Kumar, 27.

The investigation commenced following a complaint by Pratipal Kaur, a resident of Sector 11A. Kaur reported receiving a call from someone claiming to be from the crime branch of the Mumbai Police. The caller alleged that a mobile number issued on her Aadhaar card was being used by a man identified as Naresh Goel for money laundering and that 24 complaints were registered against this number, making her the prime suspect. The caller further threatened her with imminent arrest, stating that this was a preliminary inquiry. He instructed her to deposit ₹80 lakh in a secret surveillance account, assuring her that the amount would be refunded if she was found innocent.

The fraudster then instructed Kaur to download the Skype app and sent her an order copy with information against Naresh Goel for illegal activities. They directed her via Skype to isolate herself from her family in a separate room without informing anyone. Complying with these instructions, on July 2, 2024, she received a bank account number via WhatsApp and, in a state of shock and panic, deposited ₹80.3 lakh into the given account. Later, she realised she had been defrauded.

Through technical analysis, the police traced the accused Mahendra Nai, Poonam Chand, and Sandeep Kumar to Nagaur and Sikar in Rajasthan. The arrests were made, and a SIM card used in the scam was recovered. Police are investigating whether the accused are involved in defrauding other individuals with a similar modus operandi.