Elderly Couple in Delhi Digitally Arrested for 16 Days, Cheated Out of Rs 14 Crore

New Delhi: Another case of digital arrest has surfaced in the capital city of Delhi, in which an elderly couple was defrauded of approximately Rs 15 crore. This time, cyber fraudsters digitally arrested an NRI doctor couple residing in Delhi and swindled them out of Rs 14.85 crore. Dr. Om Taneja and his wife, Dr. Indira Taneja, had lived and worked in the US for the UN for nearly 48 years and returned to India in 2015 after retirement.

Since 2015, the doctor couple had been involved in charitable work, but they were unaware that one day they would fall victim to such a scam, losing all their hard-earned savings to cyber fraudsters. On December 24th, the couple received a call from cyber fraudsters who, as usual, threatened them with fake cases and arrest warrants.

Money Transferred to Different Accounts
The couple was so frightened that they fell into the trap of the cyber fraudsters. From December 24th to the morning of January 10th, the cyber fraudsters kept Dr. Om Taneja and his wife, Dr. Indira Taneja, under digital arrest via video calls and during this time, had them transfer money to eight different bank accounts.

Dr. Indira Taneja transferred the money. According to Dr. Indira Taneja, the cyber fraudsters asked her to transfer varying amounts, sometimes Rs 2 crore and sometimes Rs 2.10 crore. Dr. Indira Taneja said that the cyber fraudsters threatened her with arrest warrants and fake cases. They also cited the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) and money laundering laws to intimidate her and kept her under digital arrest in the name of national security. Scammers called her husband whenever she went out
According to Dr. Indira Taneja, during the period of digital arrest, whenever she had to go out or make a phone call, the cyber fraudsters would video call her husband, Dr. Om Taneja, and listen to and watch everything to ensure she wasn’t telling anyone about the cyber fraud. When Dr. Indira Taneja went to the bank for the first time to transfer the money, the bank manager also asked her why she was transferring such a large amount. She told the bank manager exactly what the cyber fraudsters had instructed her to say.

Scammers tricked her into going to the bank
Whenever Dr. Indira Taneja went to the bank to transfer money, the cyber fraudsters would tell her a false story beforehand and instruct her that if any bank staff asked why she was transferring so much money, she should tell them that same story. She did exactly as the cyber fraudsters told her.

How the whole matter was exposed
The matter came to light on the morning of January 10th when the cyber fraudsters told her to go to her local police station because all the money would now be refunded by the RBI, and the local police would be aware of it.

When Dr. Indira Taneja reached the police station, the cyber fraudsters were still on a video call with her. She even let them talk to the SHO (Station House Officer) at the police station, and the fraudsters spoke very rudely to the police officers.

Upon reaching the police station, Dr. Indira realized that she had been defrauded of Rs. 14.85 crore, and the doctor couple is now in shock. Considering the seriousness of the matter, the Delhi Police has handed over the investigation to the Cyber ​​Unit IFSO of the Delhi Police Special Cell.