A senior woman in Uttarakhand was allegedly defrauded of Rs 1.20 crore in a “digital arrest” scam after fraudsters threatened her with arrest and prosecution and kept her connected to them through WhatsApp calls for nearly 12 days.
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Shantanu Das from Malda district in West Bengal for allegedly helping the cybercriminals receive and route the fraud proceeds through his bank account.
Das, a resident of Gopalpur village under the English Bazar police station area, allegedly allowed his bank account to be used for the transactions.
According to the STF, the victim, a senior citizen from Almora, filed a complaint with the cybercrime police station in January 2026. She said unidentified individuals contacted her through WhatsApp calls in December 2025 and posed as officials of a telecom regulatory authority.
The callers allegedly claimed that her Aadhaar card was linked to a Canara Bank account involved in money laundering transactions worth nearly Rs 60 crore. They also told her that around 5,000 people had transferred money to the account and that 5,000 first information reports had been registered against her.
The fraudsters allegedly threatened her with arrest and prosecution and instructed her to remain connected through WhatsApp calls for nearly 12 days. She was also told not to contact her family, friends or the police.
Using the pretext of verifying her bank accounts, the accused allegedly persuaded her to transfer money to several accounts. Police said she eventually transferred a total of Rs 1,20,18,000.
Following directions from senior STF officers, cybercrime police collected details of the bank accounts, mobile numbers and WhatsApp profiles allegedly used in the fraud. Investigators obtained information from banks, telecom service providers and Meta.
Analysis of technical and digital evidence helped investigators trace one of the bank accounts and mobile numbers linked to the alleged fraud. After verifying the details, an STF team arrested Das in Malda.
“Shantanu Das allowed his bank account to be used for receiving the proceeds of the cyber fraud. The money obtained from the victim was credited to the account and immediately transferred to other accounts,” STF Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh said.
“The investigation is continuing, and the role of other account holders and accused persons linked to the fraudulent transactions is being examined,” he added.
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