Ahmedabad: When 70-year-old Ramesh Rajvani got a call purportedly from Nashik police accusing him of being embroiled in a money-laundering case, he knew something was amiss. For six days, callers posing as law-enforcement officers kept the septuagenarian on video calls, ordered him to stay indoors, and threatened to arrest him in the case. Rajvani pretended to fall for their ruse, right until it was time to pay. After tricking the callers into confirming that they controlled the beneficiary account, the senior citizen alerted the cybercrime helpline, leading investigators to a beneficiary account that had recorded suspicious credits of Rs 40.17 lakh.According to a complaint filed by Gujarat CID’s Cyber Centre of Excellence, Rajvani — a retired govt employee — received a call on July 30 from a man who identified himself as Sanjay Pise, purportedly an officer at Panchvati police station in Nashik.The caller allegedly claimed that six people associated with the Popular Front of India had been arrested and had named Rajvani in a money-laundering case. He allegedly threatened Rajvani with arrest but offered to “clear” his name if he disclosed his bank details and transferred money.The callers allegedly told Rajvani to remain on video calls and instructed him to stay indoors. They demanded that he report his daily activities and avoid contacting anyone. They also sent him documents purportedly issued by the Supreme Court and the Enforcement Directorate. The documents, which contained Rajvani’s personal details, were allegedly forged.On Aug 1, the callers demanded Rs 2 lakh, claiming the amount would be returned after a 1% tax deduction. Rajvani, who had grown suspicious, decided to play along.On Aug 3, he transferred Rs 1 lakh from his wife’s bank account to his own. He then allegedly edited a message to make it appear that another Rs 1 lakh had been credited and informed the callers that his balance was Rs 2.06 lakh.
A technical investigation found that the beneficiary account was held in the name of M/s Gita Enterprise
Believing that he had enough money to meet their demand, the fraudsters allegedly gave him a bank account number and instructed him to transfer Rs 2.01 lakh. Rajvani filled out a transfer slip but sent only Rs 201.When the callers complained that they had received just Rs 201, little did they know that they had fallen into Rajvani’s trap and confirmed they had access to the beneficiary account. Rajvani contacted the cybercrime helpline on 1930, and reported the alleged fraud.A technical investigation found that the beneficiary account, held in the name of M/s Gita Enterprise, had received suspicious credits totalling Rs 40.2 lakh and recorded debits of Rs 40.1 lakh. Investigators also found that the account was being operated through internet banking from Barpeta in Assam, while the firm was based in West Bengal.A case has been registered against the alleged impersonator, the account holder, and others under provisions of BNS and the Information Technology Act.
