Two sr citizens from same area in Bagbazar lose 90.5 L in digi arrest

Kolkata: Two cases of alleged digital arrest fraud were reported from the same neighbourhood in the Bagbazar area, with the victims residing barely 100 m from one another. Cops said a total of Rs 90.5 lakh was lost in the two incidents.Both FIRs were registered on Tuesday. The detective department has joined the probe. According to cops, it is probably the first time in the city that the targets live so close to each other. However, cops are ascertaining if the same group duped the two. While a 69-year-old lost Rs 51.5 lakh to fraudsters impersonating NIA officials, an 83-year-old was duped of Rs 39 lakh by conmen posing as CBI officers. Both were coerced into transferring their life savings after being accused of involvement in money laundering and terror funding. In the first case, the elderly resident was targeted between March 27 and April 4 by a gang posing as NIA officials and UP Police, and subjected to a "traumatic digital arrest", where he was kept under constant surveillance via video calls for several days. The fraudsters utilised extreme psychological pressure, claiming the victim was linked to terrorism, and threatened to send his family to a "detention centre". They warned that any communication with the outside world would be treated as a breach of national security. In the other case, the 83-year-old received a WhatsApp call on April 5 from an individual posing as a CBI officer who alleged that the octogenarian's name had surfaced in a high-profile money laundering investigation. Overwhelmed by "fear, coercion, and mental distress", he transferred the money to a private corporate account for "verification". "These are classic cases of fear-based social engineering," said an official at the Cyber Crime Cell. Kolkata Police registered FIRs in both matters. The bank accounts used by the fraudsters have been flagged for freezing.