Two arrested for duping retired couple of Rs 4.79 crore with digital arrest

BENGALURU: Two cyberfraudesters have been arrested for duping a retired couple of Rs 4.79 crore as part of a ‘digital arrest’ scam. The two accused, Eshwar Singh and Narayan Singh Chowdhary, were arrested by the Southeast Cybercrime police.

The accused posed as government officials and called the couple, Manjunath and his wife, claiming that their credit card was overdue and that their bank accounts were linked to money laundering cases registered with the CBI and ED. They also threatened to put the couple in Tihar Jail.

The couple, who were working as engineers in Nigeria, had retired. They transferred Rs 4.79 crore to the accused’s accounts. As soon as they realised that they were caught in a scam, they contacted South-Eastern Division. The police found that Rs  10 lakh had been transferred to Eshwar Singh’s account and Rs 1.8 crore to Narayan Singh’s account, both in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the police, the fraudsters tortured and kept them under digital arrest for three months, continuously demanding money. The couple even handed over their property papers to the duo and would send money through NEFT and RTGS. The couple has two children, but did not even inform them.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused had used the money for gambling in casinos in Sri Lanka. The police suspect that the two accused may have collaborated in the scam and are continuing their investigation.