Karnataka shocker: Woman loses Rs 3.16 crore in ‘digital arrest’

MANGALURU: A woman was allegedly conned out of Rs 3.16 crore by fraudsters posing as police officers and a public prosecutor. In a complaint, the woman stated that on June 5, she received a call from an unknown person claiming to be Inspector Anu Sharma, stating that the call was from NCRP.

The caller informed the complainant that a new SIM card was purchased in her husband’s name and that fraudulent calls and suspicious links were being sent to the public from this number.The complainant's husband was then asked to come to Mumbai, and the call was transferred to ‘Sahar Police Station’ where a sub-inspector named Mohan Kumar spoke to her. He collected the complainant’s personal details. The call was then handed over to someone claiming to be Public Prosecutor Deepak Venkata Ramana, who proceeded to collect bank account details of both the complainant and her husband.She was told that their bank accounts would be investigated, and payments needed to be made, but all amounts paid would be refunded. The complainant was threatened not to disclose the matter to anyone,. As a result, the complainant did not inform anyone about the incident.Between June 10 and June 27, the complainant, out of fear, allegedly transferred a total amount of Rs 3,16,52,142 in phases from her and her husband's bank accounts to various bank accounts provided by the fraudster via RTGS. Later, the fraudsters stopped calling or messaging and blocked all communication. When the complainant informed her children, she realised that she was duped. A case was registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.