A major cyber extortion scheme has surfaced in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna district, where a resident lost approximately ₹1.43 crore (₹14.3 million) after cybercriminals posing as Delhi Police officers and enforcement officials subjected her to weeks of psychological coercion under a fabricated “digital arrest”. The Krishna district police registered a formal case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act following a complaint by the victim, V. Alivelu Mangamma, a resident of Paraspet in Machilipatnam.
The fraudulent operation began on June 10, when Mangamma received an unsolicited call from an individual claiming to represent the Delhi Police. The caller alleged that objectionable harassment messages were being dispatched in her name and that a criminal case had been registered against her at a Delhi police station. Cybercriminals subsequently escalated the pressure by claiming that a public sector bank account opened in her name in Delhi was linked to an ongoing multi-crore money laundering investigation involving an accused individual named “Goyal”. The fraudsters falsely claimed that a non-bailable warrant had been issued against her and threatened that she would be produced before the Chief Justice of India within 24 hours under a “national secret case”.
Operating under the false identities of “Rahul Gupta” and “Nisha Patel,” two operatives directing the scheme instructed Mangamma to disclose her complete financial portfolio and bank accounts for mandatory “forensic verification”. Assuring her that all funds would be returned within three days once her name was cleared, the fraudsters provided forged and officially notarized legal documents via messaging applications to lend credibility to their demands. Coerced by threats of immediate physical arrest and property confiscation, Mangamma prematurely liquidated her fixed deposits at a local bank in Machilipatnam and executed a series of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transfers totaling ₹1.05 crore, followed by an additional transfer of nearly ₹39 lakh.
After remaining silent throughout much of July, the fraudsters resumed contact on July 29, claiming that Mangamma had concealed assets and demanding a further payment of ₹95 lakh to prevent the immediate seizure of her real estate. The caller identifying as “Nisha Patel” pressured her to mortgage family property, pledge gold and silver ornaments, and secure emergency loans from relatives to raise ₹20 lakh immediately, followed by structured installments. Mangamma grew suspicious when the callers insisted on her taking fresh loans despite previously asserting that her existing bank accounts were under financial audit. She immediately contacted her son residing in the United States, who advised her to report the matter to local authorities.
Investigating officers noted that the fraudsters communicated primarily through WhatsApp and the IMO application, setting their display names to “ED Surveillance Room” while systematically keeping their video feeds disabled. The victim’s husband, V. Vempati Gopalakrishna, a retired Superintending Engineer in the Panchayat Raj Department, was also coerced into installing the messaging application on his mobile device. To ensure compliance and prevent disclosure, the criminals issued threats claiming that associates on the ground would trace and kill the couple’s son if they sought law enforcement assistance or discussed the matter with family members.
Krishna District Superintendent of Police Vidya Sagar Naidu confirmed that a case has been registered and an active investigation is underway to trace the bank accounts, phone numbers, and digital audit trails utilized by the syndicate. Police officials highlighted that while public awareness campaigns regarding digital arrest scams are conducted routinely across the district, victims frequently hesitate to approach law enforcement until funds have already been routed through multiple layer accounts. Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh emphasized that “digital arrest” is a completely fictitious concept with no statutory basis in Indian law, noting that law enforcement agencies never demand fund transfers or conduct judicial proceedings over video calls.
