Bhubaneswar, Jan 21 (IANS) The Crime Branch of Odisha Police has arrested one accused from Maharashtra in connection with a digital arrest fraud case involving an amount of Rs 62.18 lakhs.

The Crime Branch, in a press note issued on Wednesday, further revealed that the victim, a private company employee, on 6 July 2024 received a WhatsApp video call from a mobile number, with the caller claiming to be from Mumbai Tilaknagar Police.

The fraudster alleged that an arrest warrant had been issued against the victim for involvement in a money laundering case and showed a Canara Bank debit card bearing the victim’s name and photo, along with a link falsely indicating his involvement in such a case.

The victim was threatened with arrest unless he appeared before the Mumbai Tilaknagar Police or agreed to an online interrogation. He was also warned not to disclose the matter to anyone.

“Out of fear, the victim agreed to the online process. He was then instructed to undergo a so-called financial audit by transferring money to the RBI. The victim transferred a total amount of Rs 62.18 lakhs from his ICICI Bank savings account to six different bank accounts provided by the fraudsters,” informed the Crime Branch.

Based on a complaint lodged by the victim, the Crime Branch launched a probe into the matter after registering a case (40/24) in this regard on July 18, 2024.

The sleuths, after analysing the transaction details and working on other digital evidence, arrested an accused fraudster from Pune in Maharashtra.

The accused was identified as Ramesh Aanjana (31), who originally hails from Rajasthan, is currently staying in Pune, of Maharstra.

The cops also seized different incriminating materials such as mobile phones, SIMs, etc., from the possession of the accused person.

Crime Branch sleuths have also arrested two more accused cybercriminals from Pune in Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat in two separate cases of cyber fraud.

–IANS

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