An elderly couple from Sector 38-C in Chandigarh was defrauded of approximately ₹2.62 crore after cyber criminals placed them under digital arrest for 11 days using threats of terrorism charges and fabricated Supreme Court arrest warrants. The fraudsters, posing as Anti-Terrorism Squad officers, convinced Ratan Chand Kashyap, a retired employee of the Public Health Department, and his wife Praveen Kashyap that their identity cards had been seized from arrested militants in Kashmir. Intimidated by threats of imminent arrest, imprisonment, and public dishonour, the couple complied with instructions to transfer their savings across four separate transactions before realising they were targets of an elaborate cyber fraud network.
Fabricated Terrorist Links and Warrants
The intimidation began when Kashyap received a WhatsApp call from an unidentified individual claiming to be Vikram Singh, an investigating officer with the Anti-Terrorism Squad. The caller alleged that the couple’s identity documents had been recovered from militants arrested in Jammu and Kashmir, and that an account had subsequently been established in their names at HDFC Bank. The imposter claimed this account had received ₹70 lakh in terrorist financing, falsely informing the couple that they were central suspects in an ongoing national security inquiry.
To deepen the intimidation, the callers claimed the Supreme Court of India had issued arrest warrants against the couple. Fearing social disgrace and imminent police detention, the elderly residents followed instructions provided by the callers. The fraudsters instructed the couple to remain isolated inside their home, refrain from discussing the inquiry with acquaintances, and prepare for potential detention. They were warned that they would be transported to a purported National Security Act facility in Pune, Maharashtra, to be detained for 45 days while their accounts underwent scrutiny.
Financial Duress and Systematic Transfers
Under the pretext of conducting an official financial verification, the callers directed the victims to photograph and share bank records, fixed deposit receipts, and related financial assets. The fraudsters then instructed the couple to transfer their funds to designated accounts, claiming the money had to be moved to an account associated with the National Investigation Agency to establish their innocence. Over the course of the digital arrest, the victims completed four separate Real Time Gross Settlement transactions, losing a total of approximately ₹2.62 crore.
The psychological coercion continued without interruption from September 29 to October 9 through persistent voice and video calls on WhatsApp. On October 9, the callers informed the couple that financial scrutiny had cleared them of any connection to militant funding and promised that the full amount would be refunded the following day. However, when Kashyap attempted to contact the phone numbers on October 11, the callers stopped answering, prompting the couple to realise they had been cheated and approach law enforcement.
Cyber Crime Police Launch Probe
Following a formal complaint by the victims, the Cyber Crime Police Station in Sector 17 registered a criminal case against unidentified individuals. Investigators have initiated a detailed inquiry to track the mobile numbers used during the 11 days of contact, scrutinise recipient bank accounts, and trace the routing of the four electronic fund transfers. Police are working to identify the individuals behind the operation and recover the defrauded savings, as the allegations against the unidentified accused remain under active investigation.
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