Lucknow: Cyber fraudsters posing as officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) allegedly kept a retired Zilla Panchayat accounts officer under “digital arrest” for nearly a month and extorted Rs 78 lakh from him by threatening to frame him in a national security case.The victim, Raj Kumar Srivastava, told police he was intimidated with arrest and legal action on accusations of sharing confidential information with Pakistani military officials and their associates, along with allegations of money laundering.According to the complaint, the scam began on Sept 22 when Srivastava received a WhatsApp call from a man claiming to be a CBI officer. The caller allegedly accused him of involvement in activities that compromised sensitive information and warned of imminent action. Soon after, another person contacted him claiming to be an IB officer, reiterating the allegations and intensifying threats of arrest, prosecution and imprisonment.Police said the callers convinced Srivastava that transferring money to accounts provided by them was necessary to “resolve” the case and avoid detention. Under pressure, he transferred Rs 50 lakh from his Punjab National Bank account and Rs 18 lakh from his Indian Bank account.The fraudsters allegedly demanded an additional Rs 10 lakh. Srivastava reportedly sold some property to arrange the funds and transferred the amount, taking the total to Rs 78 lakh.After the final transfer, the accused stopped taking his calls, prompting him to approach the cybercrime police station.Cybercrime police station in-charge Satyaprakash Yadav said an FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and other applicable provisions. Two police teams have been deployed to trace the accused and track the money trail.Gonda SP Abhishek Jha warned the public against such scams, stating there is no legal provision for “digital arrest.” He said arrests are carried out in person with due procedure and urged citizens not to transfer money to callers impersonating investigating agencies and to report such incidents immediately.
