The case began on August 11, when a Delhi businessman reported receiving an international WhatsApp call from an unfamiliar number. The caller, posing as a notorious gangster, threatened to kill the businessman’s children if ₹2 crore was not paid. To lend credibility to the threat, the caller sent a QR code for cryptocurrency transfer. Police later confirmed that the extortion attempt involved sophisticated cross-border planning, as the accused had used international SIM cards purchased in Thailand to obscure their location.
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The Arrest and Investigation Trail
The three accused were arrested on Thursday after a coordinated investigation by the Delhi cybercrime unit and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The police registered the case under Section 308(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Desh Bandhu Gupta Road police station. By tracing the cryptocurrency trail and monitoring the suspects’ movements, investigators uncovered that the accused had traveled abroad specifically to evade detection before making the calls.
Debt and Desperation: The Motive
According to Nidhin Valsan, deputy commissioner of police for the Central district, surveillance teams closely monitored the suspects’ homes in India until they returned. Once they landed, they were quickly apprehended.
During interrogation, all three admitted they were under heavy debt and sought a quick way out. Police said Sumit, 42, a commerce graduate from West Punjabi Bagh who works in the jewelry trade, personally knew the complainant and his family. Exploiting that familiarity, he suggested invoking the name of a gangster to instill fear.
Who Are the Accused?
The arrested men were identified as:
Sumit, 42 – a commerce graduate from West Punjabi Bagh and jewelry trader.
Prince, 35 – a school dropout from Roshanara Road.
Nitish, 31 – a software management postgraduate from the London School of Economics, residing in Moti Nagar.
Police recovered two mobile phones used during the crime: one for generating the cryptocurrency QR code and another for making the international WhatsApp call. Investigators noted that while the men hatched the plot in India, they executed the technical aspects from Thailand to avoid law enforcement detection.