NRI doctors duped of Rs 15 crore in south Delhi: 3 arrested; how ‘digital arrest’ kept couple trapped

NEW DELHI: 3 people were arrested in connection with the “digital arrest” of an NRI doctor couple, who were cheated of nearly Rs 15 crore at their residence in Greater Kailash-II. Among the accused were 2 individuals who provided their bank accounts to the scammers, while the third acted as a facilitator.The accused were identified as Divyang Patel, Krutik Shitoli, residents of Vadodara, Gujarat, and KS Tiwari from Prayagraj. Cops are also probing their links with China- and Cambodia-based scammers.Sources added that 2 of the accused were arrested in Vadodara, Gujarat. Patel, who runs an NGO there, opened a mule account in the NGO’s name, into which about Rs 4 crore of the defrauded money was transferred. Sources said he knowingly allowed the fraudsters to use this bank account in return for a commission.

The other accused, Shitoli, acted as a facilitator, arranging and collecting bank accounts for the scam.Police said the third accused was arrested from Prayagraj. He provided another mule account, into which approximately Rs 2 crore of the cheated amount was transferred.Dr Indra Taneja (77) and her 81-year-old husband, Dr Om Taneja, were put on digital arrest from December 24 last year to January 9 at their residence in south Delhi's Greater Kailash-II.

The scammers posing as cops claimed that over 20 complaints were filed against the couple for circulating obscene videos and involvement in money laundering. Sources said that out of the total Rs 14.85 crore, the maximum amount—Rs 4 crore—was transferred to a bank account in Gujarat's Vadodara.

Police managed to put Rs 2.10 crore on hold.On December 26, 2025, Rs 1.99 crore was sent to Jalukbari in Assam's Guwahati, followed by consecutive transfers of Rs 2 crore each on December 29 and 30 to Sama Savli in Vadodara.

On January 2, Rs 2 crore was routed to Mayur Vihar Phase III in east Delhi, while Rs 2.05 crore was transferred to Nepean Sea Road in Mumbai on January 5. Subsequent transfers included Rs 2.1 crore to Wazidpur in Uttar Pradesh on January 6, Rs 2.2 crore to Moulali in Kolkata on January 8, and Rs 50 lakh to Uttarakhand's Belada on January 9."These accounts were registered under the names of various entities, including charitable foundations, chemical trading companies, recruitment firms, and tour and travel businesses," a source said.The couple spent over 4 decades in the US. While Dr Indra was a professor and doctor at University of Medicine and Dentistry, her husband served with the UN and US federal govt.