2 held for role in 11cr ‘digi arrest’ con on elderly man

Pune: The Pune cyber police have arrested a BTech student and an unemployed graduate for allegedly playing a key role in a digital fraud case in which scammers cheated an 82-year-old man from Bhandarkar Road, Deccan, of Rs 10.75 crore between Jan 23 and 31.After tracing the money and arresting the duo, police said some of the suspects were in contact with handlers based in China and Hong Kong and a portion of the funds had been converted into cryptocurrencies and transferred overseas.
A team led by additional commissioner of police (crime) Pankaj Deshmukh, senior inspector Swapnali Shinde, inspector Sangeeta Deokate and assistant inspector Archana Katake arrested the accused, Harshad Subhas Dhantole (23) and Samarth Suresh Deshmukh (24) – both residents of Karvenagar, on Feb 22. "The two have now been remanded in judicial custody," Shinde said.Shinde said, "The accused were natives of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and stayed in a rented accommodation in Karvenagar. Dhantole was pursuing fourth-year of BTech at a college in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, while Deshmukh was unemployed, but held a BCom degree."Police have frozen Rs 40 lakh in various bank accounts used in the fraud case and seized Rs 4.87 lakh cash. The victim, a resident of Bhandarkar Road, settled in Pune around 15 years ago. He lost his life's savings and FDs from his retirement benefits. His sons, who are based in the United States, regularly sent him money, which was also siphoned off by the fraudsters.According to police, the accused posed as officials from TRAI, CBI and judiciary to place the elderly man under a so-called ‘digital arrest' in connection with a fake money laundering case and alleged illegal transactions from his bank accounts. The suspects even set up a virtual courtroom and offered him legal assistance to defend himself. They then convinced him to transfer Rs 10.75 crore to various bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters.Shinde said, "We traced the money trail and identified bank accounts operated in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pune. We found that cash withdrawals had taken place from these accounts in Pune and Sambhajinagar. By tracking the ATMs and analysing CCTV footage and transaction details, we determined that the withdrawals were made by Dhantole and Deshmukh"."We have identified two more individuals in the case, one of whom was directly linked to the main fraudsters. Analysis of the accused persons' cellphones revealed that the money was routed through a cryptocurrency exchange and later transferred to Chinese crypto exchanges," she said. "We also found that one of the two absconding suspects was in contact with handlers based in China," she added.