As detailed in the release, the trio utilised a sophisticated modus operandi, employing "fake letterheads of the Income Tax department, CBI, ED, and the Supreme Court"
Digital arrest is an online scam where fraudsters, impersonating law enforcement agencies, threaten people with arrest via video calls. Representational Pic
Authorities in Navi Mumbai have dismantled an interstate gang implicated in digital arrest frauds, apprehending three individuals who allegedly defrauded victims by impersonating government officials and coercing them into transferring substantial amounts of money, officials disclosed on Thursday.
The individuals, identified as Ramesh Babulal Seth (45), Amish Deepak Tulsidas Shah (42), both residents of Mumbai, and Rajkumar Gelaram Narang (55) from Ahmedabad, were apprehended by the Central Crime Unit (CCU) of the Navi Mumbai police, as stated in an official release, reported PTI.
While Seth and Shah have been remanded to custody by a local court, Narang remains in police custody until May 30,
As detailed in the release, the trio utilised a sophisticated modus operandi, employing "fake letterheads of the Income Tax department, CBI, ED, and the Supreme Court," reported PTI.
They would "pose as officials of these organisations and present the counterfeit letters to victims, subsequently placing them under digital arrest and extracting funds from them," as per police reports.
Digital arrest is an online scam where fraudsters, impersonating law enforcement agencies, threaten people with arrest via video calls and coerce them into transferring money into bank accounts provided by them.
The gang was identified while police were probing a high-profile cyber fraud reported between January and February 2025, when a female doctor was subjected to digital arrest and duped of nearly Rs 2 crore.
"The fraudsters claimed they were from the Income Tax department, and told her she had evaded taxes and she had a company in Vazipur, New Delhi. They further told her an amount of Rs 8,62,30 was due from her and a complaint had been made in writing with the Delhi police," said the release, news agency PTI reported.
The scammers sent fake letters purported to be and on the letter heads of government agencies on her WhatsApp. Driven by fear, the victim transferred Rs 1,81,72,667, which comprised money kept in the bank and those in other investments, into 6 bank accounts provided by the thugs, police said, news agency PTI reported.
After realising she had been cheated, the doctor filed a police complaint. An FIR was subsequently filed with the Cyber Police Station on February 17 under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
To crack the case, three different police teams were formed and they carried out a search and arrested the trio, said the release.
"The investigation revealed the arrested individuals, along with wanted accomplices, entered into a criminal conspiracy and formed an organised crime syndicate and formed bogus companies for cheating," it said, reported PTI.
Explaining the modus operandi, the release said, "The accused took galas (shops) on rent and set up bogus companies and opened different bank accounts in their name. They obtained internet banking facilities and other items like debit cards and mobile SIM cards. The scammers made online calls, put victims under digital arrest and cheated them," reported news agency PTI.
Police said Rs 1,13,5,00 in cash, one laptop, 18 mobile phones, 18 cheque books, 32 debit cards, 33 cheques, 27 SIM cards, two bank passbooks, rubber stamps of 10 bogus companies, and documents relating to the opening of bank accounts of 10 firms were recovered from them.
The arrested individuals have prior criminal records, the police officials added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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