Palghar, Police have arrested eight persons, including three siblings, from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar for allegedly extracting Rs 3.5 crore from a senior citizen after trapping him in a 'digital arrest', an official said on Wednesday. Police have also frozen Rs 22 lakh of the extorted money parked in different bank accounts.
A digital arrest is a cybercrime where conmen trick people into believing they are under arrest. The fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials to extort money.
The victim, a resident of Palghar district, was targeted between December 18 last year and February 10.
A person identifying himself as a Mumbai police officer first called him, accusing him of indulging in illegal advertisement and harassment, said Palghar Superintendent of Police (Rural) Balasaheb Patil.
Subsequently, another person who called himself a CBI lawyer joined the call. The victim was threatened with arrest and made to transfer Rs 3.5 crore to various bank accounts to "spare" him the action, including "potential harm to his daughter".
Patil said the police worked on various inputs to track down eight persons, including three siblings, involved in the crime. Of them, four were taken into custody in Nagpur, three in Ankleshwar (Gujarat), and one in Bhantara, Aurangabad (Bihar).