Retired banker, wife in 'digital arrest' for days, duped of Rs 1.7 crore in Meerut

MEERUT: A retired govt bank clerk, Suraj Prakash, and his wife were allegedly placed under "digital arrest" for five days by cybercriminals posing as CBI and RBI officials in Meerut.
The couple, both in their mid-60s and residents of Pandav Nagar, were swindled out of Rs 1.7 crore in a money laundering scam.
Prakash received a call on Sept 17, claiming that an account had been opened using his Aadhaar card and over Rs 6 crore had been transferred through it.
The caller, pretending to be a senior RBI official, accused him of money laundering and presented a fake CBI letter as evidence.
"I was told my account was flagged under the Money Laundering Act by the RBI, and they showed me a fake CBI document where I was listed as an offender," Prakash told TOI.
Fearing arrest, Prakash followed the scammer's instructions and transferred Rs 1.7 crore in five installments to different bank accounts.On Sept 22, realising something was wrong, he decided not to pay any further and contacted the police.
SSP Vipin Tada said an FIR was registered under BNS Section 314(4) for cheating, along with relevant IT sections at the cybercrime police station. "Claims of house arrest are still under investigation and the bank accounts of the perpetrators have been seized," Tada said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.