South Delhi cyber police have arrested two men in a digital arrest fraud case involving a ₹6 lakh transfer by a businessman.
How was the businessman targeted?
According to police, the accused contacted the businessman through a WhatsApp video call and posed as law enforcement officials. They allegedly threatened him with arrest and subjected him to harassment before inducing him to transfer ₹6 lakh.
An FIR was registered at the Cyber South police station under sections 308, 318(4), 319 and 340 of the BNS.
Police began investigating the financial trail of the money. The cheated amount was initially credited to a bank account allegedly controlled by Mukesh Kumhar of Bhilwara, Rajasthan. Investigators said ₹5.5 lakh was subsequently transferred to another bank account operated by Ritish Kumar Mehra of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir.
DCP (South) Anant Mittal said investigators traced the movement of the money across states through financial-trail and technical analysis and arrested both account operators.
How were the two accused arrested?
Mehra was arrested in Kathua, while Kumhar was subsequently arrested in Bhilwara, police said. According to investigators, neither man had any previous criminal involvement.
Police said the case was solved through focused examination of the financial trail and technical evidence. The investigation did not stop with the ₹6 lakh complaint, as scrutiny of the financial activity linked to the accused led investigators to other suspected fraud transactions.
Three mobile phones, four ATM or debit cards, five cheque books and five rubber stamps were recovered from the accused, according to police.
How did one case lead to 10 complaints?
During scrutiny of Kumhar’s financial profile, investigators identified another bank account that had recorded transactions of around ₹50 lakh.
Police said the account was linked to 10 complaints registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal from different states. Investigators suspect the accused were part of a network that used beneficiary bank accounts across states to route money obtained through digital arrest scams. The investigation is continuing to identify other members of the alleged network and trace funds connected to the additional complaints.
What overseas link are police examining?
The technical investigation also identified a Cambodia-linked digital trail in communications used in the fraud, according to police. Investigators are analysing the overseas connection to establish the role of other suspects.
Police said the case was worked out through swift financial-trail analysis and focused technical investigation. Further investigation remains underway.
The case illustrates how investigators can follow bank transactions beyond an individual complaint to uncover accounts potentially connected with multiple cyber fraud cases. In this instance, a probe that began with a businessman allegedly being coerced into transferring ₹6 lakh led police to another account with transactions of about ₹50 lakh and links to 10 complaints from different states.
Police are now examining the wider network, the movement of funds connected with the other complaints and the Cambodia-linked communication trail identified during the technical investigation.
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