In a joint operation, the cyber crime police station and cyber cell in Lucknow have arrested two cyber fraudsters from Odisha for allegedly posing as CBI officials and cheating a man of ₹47 lakh by falsely claiming he was under digital house arrest, police said on Sunday.
As per Lucknow Police, the accused have been identified as Ranjit Kumar Behera (27) from Baleshwar district and Jayant Kumar Sahu (33) from Keonjhar. Both were arrested on July 4 from Keonjhar and brought to Lucknow for further investigation.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) crime Kamlesh Dixit said the accused tricked the victim, Rakvendra Verma, by making fake WhatsApp video calls. During these calls, they showed him forged arrest warrants and seizure notices. “They told the victim that his Aadhaar and mobile number were used in criminal activities and a case was registered against him at Andheri East police station in Mumbai,” Dixit said.
The fraudsters used threats of legal action to scare Verma. They convinced him to isolate himself, stop talking to anyone, and transfer almost all his savings into what they called a ‘safe account’.
Fearing trouble, Verma followed their instructions and ended up transferring ₹47 lakh to them. The entire fraud was carried out digitally, with the accused pretending to be senior officials from central investigative agencies, the police added.
Brijesh Yadav, SHO of the cyber crime police station, said that a case has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), IT Act, and Aadhaar Act. “The accused used corporate credit cards in others’ names and linked them with mobile numbers to carry out transactions. The money was then routed into cryptocurrency (USDT) and divided among themselves,” he said.
During the arrest, Lucknow police recovered ₹1.27 lakh in cash, three mobile phones used in the crime, and several ID cards. The accused also admitted to creating fake identities and laundering money through crypto wallets.
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