Kolkata police arrest three from Gujarat in Rs 78-lakh cyber fraud case

Kolkata, Nov 20 (LatestNewsX) The Kolkata Police have arrested three persons from Gujarat in connection with a year-old cyber fraud case in which an elderly woman from the city was duped of Rs 78 lakh, officials said on Thursday.

The fraudsters had posed as Mumbai police officers and pressured the victim to pay after alleging that she had sent a parcel to a person in Mumbai through a courier, which contained drugs.

The complainant has been identified as Deepanwita Dhar, 61. She is a resident of the Maniktala area in north Kolkata.

In her complaint to the police lodged on March 9, 2024, the woman said that she received an automated call where a person informed her that a parcel she had ordered had been cancelled. The old woman thought that she used to buy so many things from various shopping websites and apps that some of the orders got cancelled. She called the customer care number given to her on the automated phone call.

According to police, the fraudsters told her that 200 grams of banned drugs were found in the item she had ordered. The item was supposed to be sent to a person named Zhang in Mumbai. She informed that she had not sent any such parcel to anyone.

After that, the fraudsters claimed that the parcel was sent using the old woman’s Aadhaar card. Therefore, security money should be deposited with the Reserve Bank.

According to police, the fraudsters also forbade the victim from revealing the matter to anyone. After this, the old woman, with the help of her driver, transferred Rs 78 lakh 30 thousand to the accused’s account between March 12 and 13, 2024. It is learnt that she also withdrew the money from her fixed deposit.

In the complaint, she said that the accused, posing as Mumbai Police officers, pressured her to give money. They also sent fake letters in the name of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Based on that complaint, the Kolkata Police, after a thorough investigation, recently arrested three persons — Baru Ravikant Gokal Bhai, Sondarbha Jilesh Narendrabhai and Chandera Vipul Kumar Kanabhai. All of them are residents of Gujarat.

Mobile phones and bank passbooks have also been seized from the arrested persons, the police said.

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