Telangana Man Held In 'Digital Arrest' Fraud

BHUBANESWAR: The state Crime Branch arrested a man from Telangana on Thursday for his link with a digital arrest scam in Odisha. The accused was identified as Abdul Saleem (33) from Nizamabad in Telangana.

A 69-year-old doctor from Berhampur was kept under 'digital arrest' by cyber scammers who impersonated law enforcement officials and forced him to transfer a staggering Rs 1 crore, claiming that his Aadhaar card was used in a drug smuggling case.

The elderly man received a WhatsApp call from an unknown person claiming to be a TRAI employee, who alleged that illegal activities were reported against the doctor’s mobile number. 

The caller connected him to a fake "Mumbai police officer" who declared him under digital arrest. "The caller asked the doctor to transfer Rs 1 crore. Assuming the caller as genuine police, the victim transferred Rs 1 crore in two transactions from his account to their accounts,” Crime Branch said in a statement.

The victim approached the Crime Branch on June 7 and lodged a complaint. From bank details and other documents collected during the investigation, Crime Branch identified and arrested Abdul Saleem.