Bhubaneswar, Dec 27: The Odisha Police arrested two individuals from Rajasthan on charges of defrauding a person from Rourkela city of Rs 23 lakh in name of digital arrest. The accused were apprehended from Jaipur and Jodhpur in Rajasthan on charges of impersonating police officials and extorting money under the pretext of a digital arrest.
The arrested suspects have been identified as Mukesh Kumar Saini (21) and Harshit Sain (22), both residents of Rajasthan's Jaipur district. The duo allegedly posed as officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and extorted Rs 23 lakh from the victim, Arun Kumar Mandal, over the course of several days.
According to the police, the victim, Arun Kumar Mandal, a resident of Rourkela, was initially contacted by a fraudster impersonating a DHL courier service employee at around 11:30 AM on August 30, 2024. The caller informed Mandal that a parcel addressed to him was being returned. When Mandal denied knowledge of the parcel, the caller claimed that Mandal's Aadhar card had been used in a shipment sent from Mumbai to China, which allegedly contained narcotics.
Alarmed by the information, Mandal expressed his intent to report the matter to the local police. However, the fraudster quickly connected Mandal to another individual, who introduced himself as Mohit Handa and claimed to be an official from the Mumbai Crime Branch. During a video call, the scammer threatened Mandal with a "digital arrest" and demanded Rs 20 lakh to clear his name.
Under duress and fearing legal consequences, Mandal transferred Rs 20 lakh to the fraudsters' accounts. The scammers later demanded an additional Rs 3 lakh for his release, which Mandal also paid. In total, the victim lost Rs 23 lakh to the scammers.
Upon receiving the complaint, the Rourkela Police formed a special team that traveled to Rajasthan, where they successfully arrested the two suspects from Jaipur and Jodhpur.
Following the arrests, the police discovered that this fraudulent activity was part of a larger, organized gang operating both across India and internationally. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify and apprehend other members of the network involved in similar scams.
The police have urged the public to remain cautious of such scams, particularly those involving digital arrests or requests for urgent payments.
