Jaipur, Aug 13 (PTI) A 90-year-old former district judge was allegedly duped of Rs 2.50 crore by cyber fraudsters who posed as CBI officials and an RBI manager, and kept him under “digital arrest” for around 15 days, police said on Thursday.
The fraud came to light after an SBI manager’s alertness prevented the victim, Ganpat Singh Bhandari, from transferring money from his Public Provident Fund (PPF) account, following which a case was registered at Jaipur’s Jyoti Nagar police station on Wednesday evening, they said.
According to the FIR lodged on a complaint by his nephew Ravindra Singh Mohnot, Bhandari received a WhatsApp video call on July 28 from an unidentified number.
The caller, dressed in police uniform, allegedly identified himself as a CBI officer from Mumbai and told Bhandari that a Rs 50 crore hawala transaction had been detected, of which Rs 40 lakh have allegedly been credited to his SBI account.
The fraudster threatened him with arrest and warned him against informing family members, police said.
Later, another person contacted Bhandari on WhatsApp and claimed to be an RBI manager. He allegedly told the victim that money linked to the hawala transaction had been invested in mutual funds and sought details of his financial investments.
Bhandari, allegedly acting under fear and pressure, shared details of his mutual funds and other financial documents with the callers.
The fraudsters subsequently instructed him to transfer money to different bank accounts on the pretext of assisting with the investigation. According to the complaint, Bhandari transferred Rs 2,50,51,000 (Rs 2.5 crore) from his SBI account in Gandhi Nagar between August 3 and 10.
The accused allegedly instructed Bhandari to delete WhatsApp chats, call logs and other messages after each conversation. Police said the instructions helped the fraudsters keep the alleged fraud from the victim’s family.
The fraudsters later asked Bhandari to transfer money from his PPF account as well. When he approached the SBI’s Johari Bazaar branch on Wednesday, the bank manager grew suspicious and stopped the transaction.
The manager, who quizzed Bhandari, informed him that he appeared to have fallen victim to cyber fraud. The victim then contacted his nephew, who subsequently approached Jyoti Nagar police and lodged the complaint.
Police have registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
Further investigation is underway, police said. PTI AG RUK RUK
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