Bhubaneswar: In a shocking case of cybercrime in the City here, fraudsters posing as Mumbai Crime Branch officials duped a senior chartered accountant (CA) of Rs 1.5 crore after subjecting him and his wife to a ‘digital arrest’ for 10 days. The victim, identified as Bijay Kumar Sahu, a resident of VSS Nagar Housing Board Colony under Saheed Nagar police limits, was threatened and confined to his home by the cybercriminals, who forced him to transfer money to multiple accounts.
According to police, Sahu and his wife were mentally harassed and kept under constant surveillance through video calls by the fraudsters. The couple, whose children stay abroad, were too terrified to seek help or inform anyone. The incident came to light Friday after Commissionerate Police rescued the elderly couple from their home.
Sahu had lodged a complaint with the Bhubaneswar Cyber Crime and Economic Offences police station Thursday night. Given the magnitude of the financial fraud, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch. Preliminary probe revealed that Sahu received a call around 10 days ago from individuals claiming to be officers of the Mumbai Crime Branch. They accused him of involvement in a crime syndicate and warned that his phone number was being used for illegal activities. To make the deception more convincing, the fraudsters appeared in police uniforms during video calls and told him that he was under arrest. They instructed Sahu and his wife not to leave the house, warning of severe legal consequences if they disobeyed. Believing the threats, Sahu shared his personal and banking details with the imposters and subsequently transferred large sums of money to various accounts as directed. When his own funds were exhausted, he even took loans to meet their demands.
Meanwhile, neighbours grew suspicious after noticing that the couple had not come out of their house for several days. They alerted the police Thursday night, who visited the house and, after repeated persuasion, convinced the frightened couple to open the door. Police later escorted the traumatised couple to the cybercrime police station. Officers said the victims appeared to be under severe mental distress after losing their life’s savings.
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