Rajkot: City Cyber Crime police arrested a 22-year-old student from Madhya Pradesh for his alleged role in a “digital arrest” scam that stripped a retired court worker of more than Rs 88 lakh.Devansh alias Kano Joshi, a third-year BCA student from Dewas district, was held after a complaint by 69-year-old Dinesh Delwadiya, who retired as an assistant clerk at the Rajkot sessions court. Joshi, who also worked part-time, had allegedly let cyber crooks use his bank account. Police said Delwadiya and his wife were called by men who posed as Delhi crime branch officers and falsely charged them with money laundering and drug running. The callers threatened them with life in jail and tricked them into staying under “digital detention” for 45 days, during which they were fooled into sending the money for “verification”. Between July 10 and July 31, the couple sent Rs 88 lakh to many bank accounts. The crooks also pushed them to take a gold loan and send another Rs 27 lakh, saying the money would be “returned after the verification process”, police said. Assistant commissioner of police (cyber crime) Chintan Patel said the probe showed that 10 bank accounts were used to drain the money. One account belonged to Joshi, into which Rs 8 lakh from the complainant was sent. Joshi was said to have been paid Rs 1.5 lakh for use of his account. Investigating officer S D Gilva said Joshi told police he needed money after he lost his job and was drawn into the crime by a relative, Ketan Joshi, who is on the run, with the lure of easy money for sharing his bank account kit. Police said Joshi’s account figured in 21 complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Three other accused persons have been held in the case and more arrests are likely.
