A 73-year-old retired government employee in Bihar has recovered the full ₹35.74 lakh he lost to a digital arrest scam, in what cyber police in Darbhanga describe as the district’s first complete recovery of such a large sum. The funds were traced, frozen and returned within roughly six months of the complaint being filed, a timeline that investigators say reflects the value of acting quickly.
The victim, Ram Bahadur Kamat of Lakshmi Sagar Gangwara, was first contacted by callers claiming to represent Mumbai Cyber Crime, who alleged that a bank account opened using his Aadhaar had been used for illegal transactions. The claim, though false, was enough to set the fraud in motion.
A Familiar Script, Executed With Precision
What followed matches a pattern that has become disturbingly routine across India. Kamat was placed under sustained pressure through video calls, a tactic now widely known as digital arrest, in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement to create the illusion of an ongoing criminal investigation. No Indian law permits an arrest to be conducted over a video call, yet the theatre of uniforms, official-sounding jargon and constant surveillance has proven effective against victims across age groups and professions.
A second caller, posing as a Canara Bank official, then instructed Kamat to transfer his ₹35.74 lakh to another account for what was described as verification purposes, with a promise that the money would return within a week. Believing the claim, he complied. When the promised repayment never arrived, the deception became clear, and he approached the cyber police on 12 February 2026.
Digital arrest scams have grown into one of the most financially damaging categories of cybercrime in the country. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre recorded losses running into hundreds of crores from such scams within just a few months in 2024, and the broader toll from these schemes has continued climbing since, with cumulative losses now stretching into thousands of crores over recent years.
How the Money Was Traced and Frozen
Once Kamat’s complaint was registered, investigators moved through the national cybercrime helpline, 1930, to place the transferred funds on hold before they could be withdrawn or moved further. Technical analysis of the transaction trail led them to a Yes Bank account belonging to an organisation based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, prompting the Darbhanga team to travel first to Mumbai and then to Odisha as the investigation progressed.
This kind of cross-state legwork has become central to Indian cybercrime enforcement, since fraudulently obtained money is typically routed through a chain of mule accounts within hours of being received. Officials across several states have said that when a complaint is filed within six hours of a fraudulent transfer, banks and police working together can often block a significant share of the stolen amount before it disappears further into the network. Nationally, coordinated action between the 1930 helpline and partner banks has helped recover a meaningful, if still partial, share of overall reported losses in recent years.
Reporting Speed as the Deciding Factor
Kamat’s case stands out precisely because full recovery of a sum this large remains uncommon. Cyber police in Darbhanga have pointed to prompt reporting as the single factor that made the outcome possible, since delays typically allow fraudulent funds to be layered across multiple accounts, making them far harder to trace or freeze.
Authorities have reiterated a now-familiar warning that no genuine police officer, cybercrime official, bank representative or government agency will ever demand a money transfer over a phone or video call in the course of an investigation. Anyone contacted in this manner has been advised to end communication immediately and report the matter without delay by calling 1930 or visiting the nearest cyber crime police station, rather than waiting out of confusion, fear or embarrassment.
Investigators in the this case say they continue examining the financial trail to identify those behind the fraud, even as the recovered funds have already been restored to his account.
