Goa Police arrests two in inter-state 'digital arrest' fraud worth Rs 1.42 crore

Bicholim (Goa) [India], January 31 (ANI): The Cyber Crime Police Station, Goa, has arrested two persons in connection with a major inter-state cyber fraud case involving a "digital arrest" scam worth Rs1.42 crore, police said on Saturday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ashadul Islam (24) and Yasmina Ahmed (32), residents of Marigaon, Assam.
The case, registered under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) read with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act, is based on a complaint filed by a resident of Bicholim in North Goa.
According to police, the accused impersonated officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Supreme Court, using multiple WhatsApp numbers to place the victim under a fake "digital arrest." By creating fear and exerting psychological pressure, they coerced the complainant into transferring Rs 1,42,04,868 to multiple bank accounts.
Following a detailed technical analysis of communications between the fraudsters and the victim, a special team of the Goa Crime Branch traced the accused to Nagaon district in Assam. The arrests were carried out by a team led by Police Inspector Vikas Deykar, with Police Constables Arif Aga, Rupesh Gaikwad and Prakash.
Police said that during verification, it emerged that both accused had earlier been arrested in FIR registered at Nagaon Police Station, Assam, under the BNS for similar cyber fraud activities. In that case, the Assam Police seized 358 SIM cards, five mobile phones, one Wi-Fi router, one DVR, and one laptop. The same mobile phones were found to have been used in the Goa cyber fraud case as well, and the seizure will be formally linked to the Goa Police investigation.
Investigators further revealed that the same mobile numbers were linked to another "digital arrest" complaint filed in Goa, involving a fraudulent amount of Rs 63.50 lakh.
During the probe, it was found that the accused were operating multiple mobile numbers from the same IMEI. These devices were linked to several cyber fraud complaints across the country, indicating that the accused are key operators within a broader network of financial cybercrime.
The Goa Police team received excellent cooperation from the Assam Police in this case. SP Crime constituted 3 teams, comprising personnel from the Crime Branch and Cyber Cell, for different tasks in this case.
The accused have been produced before the Court, and further investigation is in progress under PI Deepak Pednekar, with supervision from Ms Shridevi BV, IPS, ASP Cyber, and Rahul Gupta, IPS, SP Crime or Cyber. (ANI)