Cyber Fraud in Karnataka: Bank Manager Duped of ₹56 Lakh

Cyber Crime Unveiled in Mandya

In Mandya, Karnataka, a bank manager fell victim to a cyber scam, losing ₹56 lakh after being falsely 'digitally arrested' by fraudsters. The police managed to solve the case after a lengthy nine-month investigation, leading to the arrest of three individuals involved.

The victim, a female bank manager at Bank of Baroda, was contacted by the scammers who impersonated Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials. They conducted a video call, accusing her of participating in money laundering and making threatening calls.

The criminals claimed she was connected to a hawala operation and presented fabricated evidence of her threatening behavior. They pressured her into transferring funds from her accounts to evade arrest, assuring her that the money would be returned after resolving the situation.

Under duress, she complied, transferring the funds which were subsequently funneled into 29 different bank accounts.

Upon realizing the deception, she reported the incident to the Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) police station in Mandya. Investigators discovered that the accounts involved were fraudulent.

Further inquiries traced the cybercriminals to Rajasthan, but a police team later found that the gang was actually operating from Delhi. One suspect, Gopal Bishnoi, was apprehended in Delhi, leading to the arrests of two others, Mahipal Bishnoi and Jitendra Singh. Police recovered ₹1.5 lakh, while the majority of the funds had already been dispersed.

In a related incident, two women in Bengaluru were also scammed and coerced into undressing during a video call by fraudsters posing as police officers in a similar 'digital arrest' scheme. The women were held on the call for nine hours, pressured to expose themselves for a supposed medical examination, with the scammers recording the incident.