Almora police nab two cyber fraud accused from Gujarat for duping elderly of Rs 82 lakh
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Police arrested two cyber fraudsters from Gujarat for digitally arresting elderly victims and defrauding them of nearly Rs 82 lakh in Almora district. The Almora senior superintendent of police Devendra Pincha that in the first case, Almora police arrested accused Dilawar Juneja from Morbi, Gujarat for digitally arresting two elderly siblings, Poorn Chandra Joshi and Bhagwati Pandey and defrauding them of over Rs 75 lakh across 16 days.
The victims received a video call from someone posing as a police officer who claimed their IDs were linked to a child kidnapping gang. The caller threatened arrest and instructed them to transfer their money to designated accounts for verification, promising a refund after clearing the investigation. The siblings were coerced into transferring money eight times between March 23 and April 7. An FIR under relevant sections of the BNS was registered at Almora Kotwali and investigations revealed that Dilawar was part of a larger fraud network, the SSP said.
He informed that in the second case, Lamgara police arrested accused Nishit Mandaliya from Jamnagar, Gujarat for digitally arresting an elderly man, Jeevan Singh Mehta of Lamgara and extorting Rs 7.2 lakh over five days. The victim received a video call from someone claiming to be a CBI officer who falsely implicated him in a money laundering case. The caller threatened serious consequences and forced the victim to remain connected via video calls while making multiple bank transfers.
The incident occurred between January 13 and 17 and an FIR was registered in February. Pincha said that two other gang members were earlier arrested from Khargone, Madhya Pradesh and their interrogation led to Nishit’s arrest. He was involved in organising bank accounts and managing withdrawals for the gang, the SSP said. Further investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest other members of the cyber fraud network, he added.
