Patliputra police rescue elderly couple from digital house arrest

Patna: Acting on a tip-off, Patliputra police rescued an elderly couple from an alleged digital house arrest in the early hours of Tuesday. Shyamanand Jha (80) and his wife were allegedly held under virtual captivity for the last five days by cybercriminals.Mohibullah Ansari, SDPO (law and order)-II, said that the police prevented a financial fraud of Rs 27 lakh, which was on the verge of being transferred to the fraudsters.“We received information around 1am that the couple in Patliputra Colony was under digital arrest by unknown perpetrators operating through a cellphone number. The scammers, posing as officers from ‘Mumbai narcotics department’, contacted the couple, claiming that a parcel containing drugs, passport, an ATM card and Jha’s Aadhaar card — allegedly destined for Thailand — was intercepted by their team.

The fraudsters coerced the couple into remaining on continuous audio-video calls, manipulating them into believing they were under investigation.

On this pretext, the elderly couple were pressured into breaking their bank fixed deposits to transfer funds to the scammers’ account,” he said.Acting promptly, a team of Patliputra police raided the house and freed Jha and his spouse, the SDPO added.“Authorities are now investigating the cellphone number and the fake narcotics department to trace the perpetrators,” he said.