Dinesh Delvadiya, a 69-year-old retired assistant clerk from Rajkot Sessions Court, was duped out of INR 88.54 lakh over 40 harrowing days. The cybercriminals impersonated officials from the Delhi Crime Branch, attempting to arrest him in false money laundering and narcotics cases. The senior bureaucrat, along with his wife, was coerced into draining their assets—including their gold holdings—before registering a formal online complaint on August 24. Remarkably, three suspects have already been arrested.
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Phantom Crime, Real Money Lost
Delvadiya first received a WhatsApp call from someone claiming affiliation with the telecom department, funnelling communication toward a “Sunilkumar Gautam” of the Delhi crime branch. The caller alleged that a bank manager had been arrested and had confessed to transferring illicit funds—worth INR 8 crore, along with passbooks, cards, and drugs—to Delvadiya’s account. They intensified the pressure with staged images of a suspect in custody. Scared for his freedom and reputation, Delvadiya transferred INR twenty-seven lakh in the early days, pawning his gold for a loan. Over the next several weeks, fraudulent demands forced him to liquidate fixed deposits and bank funds, culminating in INR 88.54 lakh lost.
Law Enforcement Strikes Back
Frantic and realizing the mistake, the couple filed complaints through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) on August 18, followed by a formal FIR with the Cybercrime Station on August 24. In a swift response, the police arrested Brijesh Patel, who “rented” his bank account for INR ten lakh of the stolen money, along with Mohsin Sheikh and Mohamad Halari, who handled fund transfers via an ‘angadia’ (hawala-like) network in Bhavnagar. The broader hunt for the case’s masterminds continues.
Why It Matters
Even individuals with legal acumen can fall prey to elaborate scams that exploit fears around law enforcement. The “digital arrest” scheme—through layered impersonation and psychological coercion—continues to be one of the most damaging fraud trends in India, demanding both heightened public awareness and forensic vigilance.