Cyber crooks digitally arrests ASI officer for Rs 12 lakh

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In the high-profile Jet Airways case involving Naresh Goyal and money laundering, a Central Government official was lured into a digital arrest trap with threats of implicating him in the case. Over three consecutive days, the official was deceived into parting with a sum of Rs 12 lakh. A case was filed at the Begumpura police station on Thursday. The complainant is a native of Nagpur, 52-year-old Prashant Sonone (temporary resident of Pahadsinghpura) works as an Assistant Superintending Archaeologist in the office of the Archaeological Survey of India (Aurangabad Circle).

On December 7, Sonone received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be from the Mumbai Crime Branch and falsely told Sonone that his Aadhaar card was being misused in the Naresh Goyal scam. The caller then threatened to digitally arrest him. To verify his bank account and pay the Supreme Court's fees, Sonone was instructed to pay an initial amount of Rs 99,000. When Sonone refused to do so, the cyber criminals blackmailed him. Fearing the threat, Sonone immediately transferred the demanded money online.

Demand for more money

Over the next few days, cyber crooks started threatening Sonone from four to five different numbers, pressuring him to provide bank account details. Sonone continued to share the information. Two days later, they made another demand, this time for Rs 11 lakh under the pretext of further verification. Sonone transferred the amount via RTGS as well.

Ordered to take a loan

On the third day, the cyber criminals instructed Sonone to take a loan from the bank. When Sonone mentioned that it would take some time, the criminals threatened him, advising him to borrow Rs 10 lakh from a friend and give it to them. During this time, Sonone began to suspect that he was being defrauded and stopped responding to the criminals.

Duped in the name of Goyal across the country

In September 2023, Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways, was arrested in a money laundering case. Cybercriminals, using the name of this scam, defrauded retired officials from Varanasi, Lucknow, and Kullu of more than Rs 3 crore. Interestingly, they also sent fraudulent documents related to the scam to the victims.