Delhi Police Held 2 Under 'Digital Arrest' For Cheating People

New Delhi: Two people were arrested in the national capital for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of digital arrest by posing as crime branch officials, police reported on Monday.

'Digital arrest' is a tactic where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials, like CBI or customs officials, and threatens people of arrest by making video calls in the name of fake international parcels.

The accused were identified as Rakesh Singh (26) and Sachin Sangwan (25).

"On March 28, 2023, Saurabh Pillay lodged an online complaint on NCRP web where he told police that he received a call from an international courier company representative who told that a package was booked in his name from Mumbai containing an ATM card, a sim card and a passport," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Rohit Meena said.

The employee advised him to inform the police and file a complaint at Colaba police station and transferred the call to some crime branch officers who interrogated him on a video call. Meena said, they told him they had issued an arrest warrant against him.

"The complainant was cheated of Rs 4.95 lakh on the pretext of digital arrest. A case was registered and an investigation was taken up. The money trail was monitored and two persons were identified in the case as Rakesh Singh and Sachin Sangwan," Meena added.

"On verification address and local inquiry, it was revealed that the accused were in judicial custody in Tihar jail in another cyber cheating case of the south district in Delhi," the DCP said.

The court issued the production warrant for accused Rakesh Singh and Sachin Sangwan, who were arrested on September 17. Further investigation was underway, the DCP added. 

(With PTI inputs)