Bhopal:
Swami Supradiptanand, Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashram in Gwalior, became a victim of Madhya Pradesh’s biggest “digital arrest” fraud. In a period of 26 days, he was virtually taken hostage through video calls and forced to transfer Rs 2.52 crore to several bank accounts across the country.
The fraud began on March 17, when the monk received a video call from a person, claiming to be a police officer of Nasik, Maharashtra.
The caller alleged that Swami Supradiptanand’s name was revealed in a money laundering case, which included businessman Naresh Goyal.
Exploiting his belief and fear, the imposters assured them that they need to cooperate in their investigation or face legal action.
According to police sources, the fraudsters demanded that the monks were in constant touch with them through video calls – a strategy is now being referred to as a “digital arrest”. During this time, they were systematically pressurized to transfer money to several installments, assuming that their cooperation would clean their name.
Total amount – Rs 2.52 crore – was sent to 12 separate bank accounts across India. The fraudsters also promised to return the entire amount by April 15, claiming that it was part of a verification process. However, when the money was not refunded, Swami Supradiptanand filed a formal complaint with Gwalior Superintendent of Police Dharamvir Singh.
Following the complaint, the Gwalior Crime Branch filed the first information report and started investigating the case. The case is now being handled by the cyber police station, and efforts are on to locate the individuals behind the scam and to recover the stolen funds.
ASP Niranjan Sharma confirmed development. “A case has been registered at the cyber police station. The victim has received a call claiming to be from the Nashik police. He was told that his name came in a money laundering case. The fraud received his trust, took his base details, and slowly expanded about Rs 2.5 crore,” he said.
Police believe that the case may be part of a large interstate or international racket, and has not denied participation of more victims or peers.
