Mumbai: Rs 9cr digital arrest case of 85-year-old cracked within day

MUMBAI: In a digital arrest case where an 85-year-old retired teacher was duped of Rs 9 crore, the south region cyber crime police nabbed a 27-year-old director of a company in whose account a portion of the victim's money was transferred within a day of the complaint being registered. The same account was linked to two other cases in which senior citizens lost Rs 5.65 crore.

The arrested accused, Sangram Baliram Babar, a Satara resident, was produced before a Mumbai court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody till Dec 26. There are a total of six complaints against this account registered with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. Police said Babar's documents were submitted to open the bank account of a company, P S Enterprises, in which he was shown as a director. A portion of money fetched after duping people was transferred to this account, too.


The complainant, a Girgaum resident, stayed with his daughter here while his other daughter stays in the US. He was kept under digital arrest between Dec 1 and Dec 22, said police. A team led by Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of Crime Branch, comprising senior inspector Nandkumar Gopale and assistant iInspector Sachin Trimukhe, is probing the case.

The complainant first received a call from a person who said he was inspector Deepak Sharma from Panchavati police station in Nashik. Sharma told him that a bank account in his name was used in a money laundering case of the banned outfit, Popular Front of India.

Sharma said that legal action was being taken against the senior citizen. Later, aman in a police uniform spoke to the complainant on a WhatsApp video call claiming to be a senior officer, and sent him an arrest warrant, an RBI freeze warrant and a confidentiality agreement that he should not inform anyone about the case. The fraudsters asked him to transfer all his money to Supreme Court's accounts for investigation purposes.

When the complainant went to the bank and transferred Rs 9 crore (including Rs 3 crore to the accused's company account), a bank employee informed his family about the huge money transfer. He then approached the police.



Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey here

Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Merry Christmas wishes, messages and quotes !