New Delhi | The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three accused following searches at seven locations across Odisha and Rajasthan in connection with a major digital arrest cyber fraud case. The arrested accused have been identified as Bibekananda Dixit and Jayant Kumar Acharya of Balasore, Odisha, and Kanhaiya Lal of Nagaur, Rajasthan. They are accused of participating in a cyber fraud in which a retired public servant was allegedly coerced into transferring ₹2.07 crore under the threat of digital arrest.
According to investigators, the case was registered on March 25 following directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The accused allegedly impersonated officials of government agencies and convinced the victim that he was under investigation for serious criminal offences. By threatening him with arrest and legal action, they allegedly induced him to transfer ₹2.07 crore into multiple bank accounts.
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The CBI investigation revealed that the defrauded money was first routed into a bank account opened in the name of a trust. The funds were then allegedly layered through multiple bank accounts in an attempt to conceal their origin. Investigators allege that the three arrested accused played an active role in transferring and layering the proceeds of the crime.
Searches were conducted at seven locations in Odisha and Rajasthan, leading to the arrest of two accused from Balasore and one from Nagaur. Investigators are continuing to examine the wider cyber fraud network, trace the money trail and identify additional suspects and beneficiary accounts.
Earlier, the CBI had also arrested Shankar Pansari alias Shankar Rajput, a resident of Karnal, Haryana, from Rajkot, Gujarat, in another digital arrest cyber fraud case. That case was originally registered by the Cyber Crime Unit in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and was later taken over by the CBI on the directions of the Supreme Court.
In that case, cyber fraudsters allegedly impersonated officials of security and counter-terrorism agencies and contacted a senior citizen woman. They falsely claimed that her bank account had been used in terrorism-related activities and threatened her with immediate arrest and seizure of her property. The fraudsters also allegedly sent her a fabricated attachment order, forcing her to transfer ₹25.65 lakh into two different bank accounts.
Commenting on the case, renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said that digital arrest scams rely entirely on psychological manipulation and social engineering. He stressed that no legitimate law enforcement or investigative agency conducts a “digital arrest” through phone or video calls or instructs citizens to transfer money to any bank account as part of an investigation. He urged the public to verify such claims independently and immediately report suspicious calls to the appropriate cybercrime authorities.
The CBI said the investigation is continuing to identify the remaining members of the syndicate, trace the complete financial trail and establish the role of other individuals connected with the cyber fraud network.
