CBI unearths syndicate behind ‘digital arrest’, arrests 4 including 2 from city

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four top operatives linked to an organised crime syndicate that extorted ₹7.67 crore from a Rajasthan resident over three months by placing the person under ‘digital arrest’. Two of the accused were arrested from Mumbai while two others were arrested from Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh, CBI officials said.

“The CBI has been adopting a multi-pronged approach in investigating digital arrest cases, with a special emphasis on dismantling the infrastructure behind such offences,” an agency official told Hindustan Times.

According to the CBI, the four accused extorted money from the Rajasthan resident by masquerading as personnels of various law enforcement agencies and placing him under ‘digital arrest’ for three months. During the period of so-called digital detention, the accused extorted money 42 times, duping the victim of ₹7.67 crore, asid CBI officials.

The case was originally registered by the cyber police station in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu. After the central agency took over the probe following a formal request from the Rajasthan government, it conducted an in-depth investigation involving extensive data analysis, profiling and use of advanced investigative techniques, CBI officials said.

Based on leads unearthed during the probe, the CBI recently conducted extensive searches across 12 locations in Mumbai, Moradabad and Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur in Rajasthan, and Krishnanagar in West Bengal. It recovered bank account details, debit cards, cheque books, deposit slips, and digital devices/ evidence that are being scrutinised by the agency, said officials.

The four accused were arrested following the searches, after they were found to be involved in the “highly organised crime syndicate”, a CBI official said. All four accused have been remanded in CBI’s custody for five days, the official added.