BSF Official Gets Duped of Rs 71.25 Lakh After 32 Days of Digital Arrest in MP

Bhopal: What is believed to be the longest digital arrest served by a victim, a Border Security Force (BSF) official in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh had been held virtually for 32 days before his son came to his rescue, police said.

The victim Absar Ahmed, posted as an inspector in the BSF Training Centre, Tekanpur, Gwalior, was under digital arrest by the cyber fraudsters from December two, 2024 to January two, police said on Tuesday.

He was duped of Rs 71.25 lakh in 34 transactions during the period, police said.

“We have received the complaint regarding the digital arrest of a BSF official. He was put under digital arrest by the cyber fraudsters for the entire month of December.

He has lodged a complaint.

The crime branch has registered a case. Probe was on”, Gwalior district superintendent of police (SP) Dharamveer Singh said.

Mr Ahmed lodged a complaint with the local police in this regard on Monday night.

According to the police, the BSF official, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, had received a WhatsApp call at 11.29 am on December two, 2024.

The caller, who identified him as a Mumbai cyber and crime branch officer, told him that an arrest warrant has been issued against him and his family members in connection with a money laundering case.

The BSF official was given the impression that he was being digitally interrogated and he and his family members would be arrested if he informed other people about his digital arrest.

He was asked to transfer money to particular accounts as part of the probe into the purported money laundering case and the entire money would be returned to him if he was found innocent in the investigation.

Mr Ahmed was so scared that he succumbed to the psychological pressure put on him by the cyber fraudsters and transferred Rs 71.25 lakhs to them in 34 transactions during the period, police said.

He had to sell his flat in Delhi and exhausted all his savings to meet the demand of the fraudsters.

His son rushed to Gwalior on January two after learning about it and asked him to file a police complaint after convincing him that a fraud was committed on him.