Bengaluru digital arrest scam: Accused linked to ₹15 crore Belagavi cyber fraud too

The six inter-State cyber fraud suspects arrested in connection with the ₹24 crore “digital arrest” scam involving a 74-year-old retired teacher in Bengaluru have also been found linked to another ₹15 crore cyber fraud case in Belagavi, officials of the Karnataka State Cyber Command said on Monday.

According to them, two of the arrested accused — Palak Bhai Patel and Amit Narendra Patel from Ahmedabad, Gujarat — are allegedly involved in a similar digital arrest fraud registered with the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) in Belagavi city. The Belagavi police have obtained body warrants against the duo, who are currently in the custody of the Bengaluru City Cyber Crime Police for further investigation.

The Bengaluru City Cyber Crime Police arrested six persons, namely, N. Sivagnanam from Erode, Tamil Nadu, Akkach Mallick from Mumbai, Maharashtra, Palak Bhai Patel from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Amit Narendra Patel from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Om Prakash Rajput from New Delhi, Gaurav Kumar from Bihar, in connection with what is said to be the biggest “digital arrest” cyber fraud in the State as the victim lost ₹24 crore.

The police said the victim, a 74-year-old senior citizen from Bengaluru, was allegedly trapped by fraudsters posing as senior officials of the CBI and Enforcement Directorate. The accused reportedly placed her under “digital arrest” and forced her to transfer ₹24 crore from her ICICI Bank account over a period of nearly two months. The victim transferred the money through 26 transactions into 23 mule bank accounts linked to 10 different banks across the country between February 10 and April 24.

Further investigation revealed that Sivagnanam is allegedly involved in four other cyber fraud cases, while Akkach Mallick is linked to three additional cybercrime cases. The officials said that ₹1.46 crore has been recovered so far, while another ₹1.40 crore is under the recovery process. The police are continuing investigations to trace the remaining suspects and uncover the larger interstate cyber fraud network involved in digital arrest scams.