Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: In a significant move, CBI has taken over two massive “digital arrest” cases reported from Gujarat last year. The financial losses in the cases – the victims, all senior citizens, lost Rs 19.2 crore and 11.4 crore – represent some of the largest sums siphoned in such scams.Officials said CBI’s economic offences unit has now filed fresh FIRs in the two cases, which will be headed by its specialised probe units to track the money trails and arrest the masterminds. Last year, SC had directed CBI to initiate a larger probe into “digital arrest” cases.In first case, Gujarat doctor lost Rs 19crore; in 2nd, couple Rs 11 croreIn the first case dating back to March 2025, a 74-year-old woman in Gandhinagar, a retired doctor, was defrauded of more than Rs 19.2 crore through an elaborate scheme. A group of scammers impersonating department of telecommunications staff, police officers and public prosecutors called her up on March 15 and convinced her that she was implicated in a money laundering investigation.The fraudsters placed the woman under constant surveillance via video calls and coerced her into liquidating all her assets — including breaking FDs, selling her house and gold, and offloading shares. They provided fabricated ‘Financial Supervision’ certificates on forged ED letterheads to authorise the transfers. The digital arrest lasted till July 16, and the woman was told her money would be returned after “verification”. When that did not happen, she filed a complaint based on which an FIR was lodged.In the second case, fraudsters posing as Trai officials and cops on June 10, 2025 targeted a retired professor living in Ahmedabad by claiming that her Aadhaar details were linked to criminal activities. After asking her to update them daily, they instructed her to speak to her husband on Aug 1.The scammers intimidated the couple into transferring a staggering Rs 11.4 crore from their accounts.
