The Delhi Police has arrested three men accused of running a digital arrest and investment fraud racket that allegedly cheated people of more than Rs 88 lakh, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made during coordinated raids in Delhi, Gurugram and Hisar. The accused have been identified as Ravi (19), Mandeep (21), and Kaleem (32), a resident of Tughlakabad Extension in Delhi.
"The men were part of an organised cyber-enabled financial fraud network that relied on intimidation, impersonation of law enforcement agencies and fake investment platforms to target people," a senior police officer said.
In one case, a 71-year-old woman was allegedly forced to transfer Rs 49 lakh after callers posing as police officials threatened her with legal action.
In another case, a 43-year-old stationary shop owner lost Rs 39.5 lakh after being promised high returns through cryptocurrency investments, police said.
According to officials, Ravi and Kaleem opened 'mule bank accounts' and sold them for a commission, while Mandeep is accused of circulating one of the accounts within the syndicate.
The trio frequently changed locations to evade arrest, but were tracked through technical surveillance and local intelligence inputs, they said.
Police said the gang used the standard digital arrest tactic, in which callers pretended to be government or police officials to frighten victims into transferring money.
The suspects also operated fake investment portals and moved funds through several bank accounts before withdrawing the cash through ATMs. Unemployed youth were recruited to operate these accounts, they said.
Further investigation is underway, they added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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