Online robbers who are digitally arrested across the country. Sometimes fake IPS and sometimes CBI officers are looting lakhs and crores of rupees by calling high profile people as traitors, terrorists, rapists, smugglers. Forced to stay indoors for hours.
Till date these robbers have not been caught. See the faces of these robbers for the first time. Bhaskar reporter Rawat Praveen Singh got himself digitally arrested to find out the truth about these robbers. Suffered mental and physical torture for 6 hours, so as to gather evidence against them.
Read the full report…
Digital arrest started with one call after 8 days of trying Bhaskar's reporter spoke to the victims and the investigating officer to understand the pattern of digital arrests and reach out to the robbers. It has come to light that they trick people by sending links on social media to know the bank's credit score.
Bhaskar's reporter clicked on these bank credit score links on social media for 5 days. There Aadhaar card and PAN card details were asked, which were also shared.
On the eighth day, at 6 am, I received a call from an unknown number. The digital arrest started as soon as the call was received.
The man in police uniform sitting in front of the reporter is an online robber. He showed fear of 17 complaints and FIR. After this, he was asked to give a statement on video call.
6 am: First threat – 17 complaints against phone number taken in your name – FIR On October 22 at 6 am, a call was received on Bhaskar reporter's mobile from 9892902670. The caller identified himself as an Indian Telecom Service official. He told Bhaskar's reporter – 'Praveen Singh! This mobile number 8451879980 in Mumbai has been taken from your Aadhaar card. 17 complaints and FIR have been registered against this number in Andheri Police Station.
CBI will block the mobile number in 2 hours. If you don't want this, you have to give a No Objection Certificate (NOC) at the Andheri Police Station within the next two hours.
Bhaskar's journalist said- 'I will not be able to reach Mumbai in two hours. This number is not mine. In this regard, the caller said – I am giving your number to the officer of Andheri Police Station. They will call you on WhatsApp.
(Saying this he hung up the phone)
10 minutes later a video call from a person calling himself IPS Sandeep Jha
After 10 minutes, a video call came on the reporter's WhatsApp from 997257930. The reporter received the call from his laptop. The person sitting in front was in police uniform. There was also a setup like a police station at the back. He identified himself as IPS Sandeep Jha.
Told the reporter – 'Show the Aadhaar card in front of the camera. There will be digital verification. The number issued in your name which is being misused, will be closed.
(After this the camera of the fake IPS turns off, but Bhaskar instructs the reporter to keep the camera on. He calls fake policeman Pradeep Sawant.)
The statements were taken online, citing a man named Pradeep Sawant. In the meantime, the goon who came in front had switched off his camera.
7 am: Fake investigation officer initiates digital arrest Even the fake investigating officer did not switch on the camera. A loud voice told the reporter – 'Keep the camera on and keep answering what he asks.
The reporter told about the call received from the telecom company. The fake investigating officer asked – 'Do you want to file a complaint online?'
When the reporter replied yes, the fake officer said – 'We will take your statement, which will be presented in court. No one else's voice should be heard and no one should appear in the video while giving the statement.
When the reporter said he was at home, the fake officer asked him to show him a 360-degree angle view of the surrounding area. Watch videos of kitchen, balcony… bathroom. Actually he wanted to make sure that no one else was present.
After this he told the reporter- 'Switch off your phone. You are connected to the laptop, you will be disturbed if someone calls.
At first the robber kept talking quietly. But, as time went by, they began to swear. Threats started. Meanwhile, the reporter folded his hands and repeatedly said that he had nothing to do with the case.
Asked – How much battery charge is in the laptop, what time is it? After switching off the mobile phone, the robber first asked how much the battery of the laptop was charged.
Then he said in a loud voice – 'How did your Aadhaar go to Mumbai? How is biometric verification done? You know 2 to 3 years in jail.
The reporter replied – I have never been to Mumbai, so the thug started asking questions…
- Where did you give your support?
- What company do you work for, where did you work before?
- Who is in the family?
- Are you educated, yet openly support someone?
Such fake letters were sent to the reporter. The fear was shown that he had cheated crores of rupees and would be jailed.
8 am: When the recording got suspicious, it said – Porn videos are being sent from your number. During the conversation, the robber suspected that the reporter was recording his video. He threatened and said – pornographic videos are being sent to girls from your mobile number. Wait, let's check aadhar card from headquarters.
After this the next voice was wireless –…CI…CI…this is Pradeep Sawant report…please check Aadhaar number….
Even after this the robber asked many questions – where do the parents live? are you married The reporter gave wrong answers to all these questions.
The robber said – There is a money laundering case of Rs 6.80 crore against you Meanwhile the voice of an accomplice of the robber came over the wireless –
The Aadhaar number shown is in the name of Praveen Singh. There is a money laundering case against him. Many cases have been reported in Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Assam, UP. Aadhaar card is in his name. Arrest this man quickly, High Command orders.
The reporter understood that now the robber had started his game. Pretending to be afraid, he said – 'Sir, I have nothing to do with this case.'
Then a voice came from the other side – 'Officer, arrest this man without wasting time. He is involved in the Naresh Goyal money laundering case. The last transaction from his account was 6 crore 80 lakh rupees.
The robbers did not even allow the reporter to get up from his seat. While defending himself, the reporter continued to shoot video of the entire digital arrest.
10 am: Suspicious of recording for the second time, he swears This entire conversation lasted till 10 am. Meanwhile, the reporter was neither allowed to stand up nor move from his place. The reporter was constantly recording everything with a spy camera. Meanwhile, the robber suspects that he is being recorded.
The robber got angry and cursed – How long have you known Naresh?
The reporter said he did not know any Naresh Goyal. The robber kept shouting. He was swearing. said-
If you don't know how to open a bank account? How did the transaction of 6 crores take place? You have two arrest warrants in your name, should I arrest you?
Threatened: Police will reach home in 15 minutes, asked for location The reporter feigned fear and pleaded not to be arrested. The robber asked – what do you do? The reporter said- 'I work in the delivery of medical equipment. Salary is 19 thousand rupees.
The robber threatened again –
You cannot hire a lawyer for 90 days. Also you will not be able to meet the family. Share location. Police will reach your home in 15 minutes. I will arrest you right now. The money of criminals and politicians has also entered your account. An arrest warrant has been issued against you.
When the robber got suspicious, they asked this reporter to raise his hand. The reporter sat with his arms raised like this for 30 minutes.
11 am: When the reporter asked for water, he cursed It was 11 am. The reporter was under digital arrest for 5 hours. During this time, neither water was allowed to drink nor anything was allowed to be eaten. The reporter said – He has not even drunk water since morning. Feeling dizzy. May I go for a drink of water?'
The robber cursed and said – sit quietly in front of the camera. What will happen if your father finds out? Did you think before committing such a crime? Your ATM card has been recovered from Naresh Goyal's house. If not, have I opened an account?
After this the reporter was asked about the property and bank balance. Inquired the family. When the reporter said – I live alone, the robber said – 'I have been posted from Delhi to Mumbai. I live with family. You are a criminal, that's why you live alone.'
The reporter was subjected to mental torture. In order to reveal the truth about the robber, he began to pretend to be afraid of the false falsehood. He was verbally abused when asked for water.
12 PM: Reporter said – I am in Bhaskar so he disconnected the call The scammer asked about investing in stocks and crypto. The reporter said he did not know about this. On that he asked – Why was 6 crore 80 lakh rupees taken from Naresh Goyal?
When he did not respond, he threatened the reporter and asked for details of ATM, online account, checkbook, UPI and mobile numbers linked to the UPI app. Said – if anything is hidden regarding rupees then strict action will be taken.
The reporter refused to provide information related to the bank and UPI. The robber asked for the father's number. Said – I will tell your father about your crime.
The company manager's number was also asked for. He said- your job will be lost. No work will be found anywhere else. Family will not be respected in society.
Finally, by 12 o'clock, the robbers obtained the bank account information of the reporter through intimidation. The reporter wisely withdrew all the money from that account. When the robbers saw the account, they became more angry.
He insulted the reporter and asked – tell the truth, what are you doing?
The reporter said- I am a reporter at Frontpage Insights.
Hearing this, the robbers disconnected the video call.
Who is Naresh Goyal, in whose name people are being cheated?
- Naresh Goyal was a big name in the industry. He founded Jet Airways in 1993.
- After the IPO of Jet Airways in 2005, Forbes ranked Naresh Goyal as the 16th richest person in India with a net worth of $1.9 billion.
- Goyal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on September 1, 2023 in a money laundering case.
- ED alleges Goyal misappropriated Rs 538.62 crore loan given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank
In no time, the money reaches the other account
- In most cases, people make the mistake of clicking on shopping, credit score and other links that come across social media. Another mistake is to share details related to your Aadhaar and PAN card on unknown links.
- It exposes all important information related to you to fraudsters. After this the robber calls those people through different means.
- They are put in front of the camera for 6 to 24 hours. In the name of implicating him in the case, they take information of all his investments and accounts citing separate inquiries.
- By threatening them, they get the victim to transfer money to different accounts. Within a short time, money is withdrawn from those accounts and transferred to other accounts.
Rent an account to transfer money Kudi Police Station Officer Rajendra Choudhary said that recently the case of digital arrest with female doctor Namrata Mathur also came up. In this case, the police arrested five people in whose accounts money was transferred after the digital arrest.
It was later revealed that all these youths had rented out their accounts to the robbers. An investigation is currently going on in this matter. How many gangs are active in different cases of digital arrests can be revealed only after the investigation is completed.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
