Six Arrested for ₹2.8 Crore ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam Targeting Senior Citizens

Pimpri-Chinchwad: The Cyber Police have arrested six people from four states for duping two senior citizens of ₹2.8 crore by posing as Blue Dart officials and Mumbai Police officers. The fraudsters falsely claimed that drugs were found in parcels sent in the victims’ names and staged a fake “digital arrest” to extort money.

Police said the scammers defrauded one victim of ₹1 crore and another of ₹1.8 crore. Investigations revealed that the accused used multiple bank accounts and digital communication channels to carry out the crime.

Those arrested include Mohammad Amer Akhil Mohammad Arif (35, Hyderabad), Jigar Jitesh Patel (23, Mumbai), Ajith Vijayan (36, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala), Sachin P. Prakash (26, Karnataka), Mohammad Rehan Mohammad Tajmul (18, Mysuru), and Syed Owais Afnan Syed Shaukat (20, Mysuru).

Police recovered ₹30 lakh from one case and ₹34 lakh from the other. Authorities also froze ₹64 lakh in the accuseds’ bank accounts.

Investigations showed that Mohammad Amer Akhil’s account had transactions worth ₹7.86 crore and was linked to a ₹58-crore fraud being probed by Maharashtra Cyber. Jigar Patel’s account recorded ₹8.67 crore in transactions and was connected to 31 complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Ajith Vijayan reportedly received ₹70 lakh in his personal account.

The operation, led by Inspector Ravikiran Nale, involved a special team that tracked the suspects across Karnataka, Telangana, Mumbai, and Kerala—covering nearly 5,000 km.

Police Commissioner Vinaykumar Chaube, Joint Commissioner Dr. Shashikant Mahavarkar, Additional Commissioner Sarang Awhad, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Shivaji Pawar, and Assistant Commissioner Dr. Vishal Hire supervised the investigation.

The team included API Pravin Swami, PSIs Vaibhav Patil, Sagar Poman, Rohit Dolas, Prakash Katkade, and Vidya Patil. Government Prosecutor Adv. Mohite represented the case in court, and police secured custody of all six accused.