The CBI is investigating sophisticated digital arrest fraud cases in Gujarat, where scammers posing as law enforcement officials defrauded a professor and doctor of over Rs 30 crore, highlighting the growing threat of cyber crime.
Key Points
- The CBI is investigating two cases of digital arrest fraud in Gujarat, where victims were coerced into transferring large sums of money.
- Scammers impersonated law enforcement and TRAI officials to deceive a retired professor and a gynaecologist.
- Victims were kept in 'digital custody' for extended periods, during which they were pressured to transfer funds under the guise of investigation.
- The total amount defrauded from the two victims exceeds Rs 30 crore, highlighting the sophistication and scale of these cyber crimes.
The CBI has registered separate cases in connection with two incidents of digital arrest fraud targetting a former professor and a retired gynaecologist from Gujarat, and defrauding them of a cumulative sum of Rs 30 crore, officials said on Thursday.
In the first case, a retired professor from St Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, started receiving calls from a woman claiming to be a representative of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from June 10, 2025, saying that her phone number would be blocked -- a common trope in such cases.
According to officials, the accused allegedly told the professor that a case had been registered against her in Colaba police station in Mumbai, saying the call will now be taken up by Inspector Vijay Khanna, starting an ordeal that lasted 82 days.
During this period, the scammers, posing as officials from various law enforcement agencies, kept coercing the victim and her husband and extorted over Rs 11 crore of their life's savings in different tranches under the pretext of verification, while keeping them in digital custody, the FIR said.
Similar Cyber Fraud Incident
In a similar case, a retired gynaecologist from Gandhinagar was kept under digital arrest for 123 days from March 15 to July 16, 2025, during which cyber criminals allegedly siphoned off more than Rs 19.24 crore in different installments.
The criminals, posing as law enforcement officers, said the amounts will returned after completion of investigation, and threatened her with dire consequences if she refused to cooperate. They further claimed that officers in plain clothes were keeping an eye on her and any attempt to contact someone would affect her situation adversely, the FIR said.
In both case, the criminals convinced the victims not to share details of the 'investigation' with anyone.
The cases were transferred to the CBI from the cyber crime unit of the CID which was earlier probing the case.
The central agency has booked nearly 44 unidentified persons in connection with both cases, they said.
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