Woman scammed of 26.33 lakh by ‘CJI Chandrachud’ in ‘digi-arrest’ case

MUMBAI: A 33-year-old resident of Chandivali, Powai, has been defrauded of ₹26.33 lakh by cyber fraudsters who brought the full weight of the ‘law’ to bear upon her, pressuring her into parting with her savings and investments. Masquerading as officers from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Cyber Crime Police, and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), they pulled off the ultimate deception – convincing her she was speaking with former Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, no less. They even sent her an ‘order’ placing her under ‘digital arrest’ for seven days, directing her to lock herself in a room and not speak about the investigation with anyone during that time.
The Cyber Police said things began to unravel for the victim on October 5, when she received a call from someone who claimed he was a TRAI official. He told her that her phone number would be deactivated as several people had received threatening messages from her number, and that her bank accounts had been linked to a money laundering case relating to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, said a police officer.
The fake TRAI official told her that a First Information Report (FIR) had been registered in the matter and the Cyber Police were investigating the case. “Soon after, she received a call from someone who identified himself Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Vijay Mehta from the Cyber Police. He ‘confirmed’ the money laundering case registered against the victim and that her bank accounts had been used in the case involving Naresh Goyal,” said the police officer.
The victim was told that to avoid 90 days’ police custody and needless litigation, she would have to undergo ‘digital arrest’ for a week. She would have to lock herself in a room at home and not discuss the ongoing ‘investigation’ with anyone.
During video calls, the fraudsters posed as police officers and a ‘CBI officer Akash Kulhadi’. The latter asked the victim to part with sensitive financial information, including details of her investments and bank accounts. He instructed her to liquidate her investments and transfer the money to a bank account provided by him, said the police officer.
The woman transferred ₹23 lakh to a bank account, which the fraudsters claimed was a ‘Secret Supervision Account’, where her money would be parked temporarily. If she was found innocent, all the money would be returned to her, she was told.
But the scamsters wanted more. “The victim was then told about a Supreme Court hearing in the Naresh Goyal case being heard by former Chief Justice of India Dr D Y Chandrachud (who retired recently). A man posing as the former CJI appeared on her screen, in a court set-up, and he played an audio clip of an alleged conversation between her and Naresh Goyal, who was facing a money laundering probe. The fake CJI told the victim that the audio clip would be sent for forensic analysis, for further investigation,” said the police officer.
Next, the terrified victim was asked to transfer another sum of ₹23 lakh to the bank account provided by the fraudsters. Fortunately, only ₹3.33 lakh went through. Soon, she was given a “clarification letter” and told that all her money would be returned to her bank accounts in the next seven days, as nothing suspicious had been found against her.
On October 15, the victim called one of the numbers used by the fraudsters to ask why her money had not been returned, only to discover that she had been scammed. “The woman lodged an online complaint with the Bandra Kurla Complex cyber police station on Wednesday, where a case has been registered against unknown people for cheating and impersonation.