Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) A retired Income Tax officer has been duped of Rs 51 lakh by fraudsters who posed as police officers from Lucknow and placed him under ‘digital arrest’ in a “money laundering” case, leading to the arrest of a mule account operator, Mumbai Police said on Wednesday.
The arrested man, identified as Mohammed Safwan Abdul Hameed, has provided bank accounts to cyber fraudsters to facilitate transactions. His interrogation exposed names of several other suspects, and police teams are currently searching for them, an official said.
The retired I-T department officer received a video call from an unidentified person who introduced himself as a senior officer from the Lucknow Police.
The caller allegedly told the retired officer that a bank account had been opened in a private bank using his documents and that transactions involving lakhs of rupees linked to money laundering had taken place through the account, according to the FIR.
“The victim told the caller that he had never visited Lucknow and didn’t have any bank account there. However, the caller claimed that the account had been opened using documents bearing his name. The victim was subsequently contacted through video calls by two other men who introduced themselves as a police inspector and the Director General of Police,” the official said.
They told the complainant that a case had been registered against him and that he would face at least 10 years in prison.
“The fraudsters further claimed that he would have to remain available on video calls for questioning until the investigation was completed and that he had been placed under ‘house arrest’. The accused allegedly warned him not to discuss the matter with anyone or contact anyone else, threatening that police would be sent to his residence and he would be arrested if he didn’t listen to them,” the official said.
Fearing arrest, the retired I-T officer followed their instructions.
“The fraudsters allegedly sent him fake government documents and sought details of his bank accounts. They told him that, until the inquiry was completed, he needed to transfer his bank deposits and other savings to a bank account,” police said.
The complainant transferred around Rs 51 lakh in instalments to a bank account provided by the fraudsters. However, no further questioning took place.
After realising the fraud, the victim approached the Cyber Cell of the North Regional Division and lodged a complaint against the unidentified cyber fraudsters.
Based on technical evidence, police identified Mohammed Safwan Abdul Hameed as a suspect and detained him for questioning.
During the interrogation, police allegedly found that he had provided bank accounts to the cyber fraudsters to facilitate the fraud. Some of the money cheated from the victim had also been transferred into his bank account, the official said.
Police said Hameed had transferred the money to the main cyber fraudsters and received a fixed commission for facilitating the transactions. He was remanded in police custody by a court.
Further investigation is underway. PTI ZA NSK
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