Kolkata: The cyber crime wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused kingpins for their alleged involvement in the transnational organised cybercrime to dupe innocent people by producing digitally generated false warrants, the federal agency said.
The arrests followed the extensive search operation at 12 locations in four states, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, Rajasthan and West Bengal, as part of Operation Chakra-V. after the Rajasthan government made an appeal the India’s premier investigation agency,
The arrested four accused included two each from Mumbai and Moradabad for their role in the alleged country-wide crime.
” The CBI has been adopting a multi-pronged approach in investigating Digital Arrest cases, with a special emphasis on dismantling the infrastructure behind such offenses,” the CBI said.
In recent months, the CBI has registered multiple cases of Digital Arrests.
The CBI took over the Digital Arrest case on the request from Rajasthan government. Earlier the case was registered at Cyber Police station Jhunjhunu, where the victim was digitally detained for over three months by cyber-criminals impersonating as personnel of various law enforcement agencies.
” During this period, the victim was extorted 42 times, totaling Rs 7.67 crore,” the CBI confirmed.
Upon taking over the case, the CBI conducted an in-depth investigation involving extensive data analysis and profiling as the agency employed advanced investigative techniques to identify the perpetrators.
Based on the leads generated during the investigation, the CBI conducted extensive searches recently across twelve locations in Moradabad and Sambhal in UP, Mumbai, Jaipur, and Krishnanagar ( Nadia district) in West Bengal, leading to the arrest of four individuals involved in this highly organized crime syndicate.
The CBI said the substantial material was recovered during these searches, including bank account details, debit cards, cheque books, deposit slips, and digital devices/ evidence.
The arrested individuals were produced before the competent court and have been remanded to five days of police custody.
A digital arrest is a fraudulent tactic used by cybercriminals to falsely accuse individuals of breaking the law, often claiming the existence of a digital arrest warrant. These scammers pose as officials from organizations such as customs, income tax department or even central investigative agencies.
