Following his return from Dubai, an 82-year-old NRI was staying in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, with his son. According to police, three people allegedly defrauded him of ₹ 32 lakh by threatening to have him arrested for a number of offenses.
An official from Navi Mumbai’s cyber police station said on Monday that the accused contacted the victim multiple times between May 12 and May 18, claiming offenses had been registered against him on charges of involvement in anti-national activities, drug peddling, and the Pulwama attack.
The accused told the victim that he would be arrested for these crimes. They sent fake documents claiming to be from the Narcotics Control Bureau and a confidentiality agreement to him on WhatsApp and forced him to deposit ₹ 32,13,305 in different bank accounts, he said.
Based on complaint by the victim on Sunday, the police registered an FIR against the three persons under relevant Indian Penal Code sections for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, personation and criminal intimidation as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.