Bapatla Superintendent of Police Tushar Dudi displayed the seized money, bank ATM cards and gadgets at a press conference on Thursday. |Image source: T. VIJAY KUMAR
Bapatla district police on Thursday busted an internet fraud case worth Rs 74 lakh registered at Tsundur police station and arrested two persons from Rajasthan in connection with the case. The police also recovered Rs 7 lakh, 24 ATM cards, 11 check books and four mobile phones from the accused.
Bapatla police chief Tushar Dudi said they busted a nationwide cyber fraud network involving 43 cases in 18 states involving over Rs 10 crore.
On December 3, 2024, retired professor Gondhi Sri Lakshmi Varaprasad Rao filed a complaint with the police, accusing the fraudsters of extorting money through false “digital arrests.” In several of the arrests, offenders impersonated police officers and threatened victims over the phone and attempted to defraud them of their money.
“Digital Arrest”
Explaining the innovative methods used by criminals to deceive people, Mr. Tushar Doudi said that as per the law, there is no concept of digital arrest.
In this case, the accused threatened Mr. Varaprasad Rao and stated that he was involved in a money laundering case. The SP said they convinced and forced Mr Varaprasad Rao to transfer Rs 74.13 lakh into five fraudulent accounts.
Based on the complaint, the technical team of Bapatla police froze Rs 1.79 crore in these accounts. Special teams were dispatched to Rajasthan and Mumbai and arrested B. Ramesh (A3) and Shrawan Kumar (A4) from Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Investigation revealed that Ramesh and Shrawan Kumar were involved in 13 cybercrime cases involving fraud amounting to Rs 50 lakh registered at 12 police stations in 8 states.
Mr. Tushar Dudi urged people not to fall victim to cyber crimes such as “digital arrest” and to report cyber crimes through hotline 1930.
He commended the district police and IT core team for their prompt action.
Published – January 3, 2025 05:39 AM (IST)