New Delhi, August 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Delhi Police have busted an interstate cyber-fraud facilitation network allegedly involved in “digital arrest” scams and arrested four people from Punjab and Rajasthan in connection with a case in which a retired Indian Army Colonel and his wife were cheated of Rs 15.50 lakh.
The Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s South-West District launched the investigation after the retired Colonel, a resident of Munirka Enclave, reported being targeted by fraudsters posing as police and government officials.
According to police, the victim received a call on April 15 and was falsely told that his telephone connection would be disconnected on the orders of Maharashtra Police. He was then directed to another number, where a caller posing as a police official alleged that his personal details had been misused to open an illegal bank account in Mumbai.
The fraudsters claimed that the account was linked to money laundering, investment fraud and terrorist financing. To make their claims appear genuine, they allegedly sent forged documents, including a fake Enforcement Directorate arrest warrant, court papers, an anticipatory bail document and fabricated communications purportedly issued by the Bombay High Court and the Reserve Bank of India.
The couple were subsequently subjected to a “digital arrest” and kept under sustained psychological pressure and monitoring. The retired Colonel was allegedly made to disclose details of his assets and then induced to transfer Rs 15.50 lakh on the pretext of complying with RBI instructions.
Police registered E-FIR No. 165/26 on April 19 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and launched a probe involving money-trail analysis, beneficiary-account scrutiny, digital-footprint analysis and technical surveillance.
The cheated money was traced to a current account in Ludhiana belonging to Sarbjit, 38. Police said Sarbjit disclosed that he had handed over the account to Suraj, 30, who allegedly obtained it through Sandeep, 32, an employee of the bank where the account was held.
Investigators found that Suraj allegedly passed the account to Naresh alias Lucky, a Sikar resident whom he contacted through Telegram. Police said Sarbjit, Suraj and Sandeep travelled to Jaipur to hand over the account kit to Naresh, who allegedly supplied it to cyber-fraud operators.
Naresh was subsequently arrested in Rajasthan. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that he procured current accounts through Telegram and supplied them to cyber-fraud operators based in Cambodia and the UAE, including Dubai.
Police said analysis of the beneficiary account and National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal records linked the account to 17 complaints from several states and Union Territories involving fraudulent transactions worth several crores of rupees.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sarbjit of Ludhiana, Suraj of Ludhiana, Sandeep of Ludhiana and Naresh alias Lucky of Sikar.
According to police, the network operated on a commission-based model in which people were persuaded to hand over their current accounts for money. The accounts were subsequently passed through multiple intermediaries and allegedly supplied to overseas-linked cyber-fraud syndicates to receive and route money obtained from victims.
Four mobile phones and six SIM cards allegedly used in cyber offences were recovered from the accused. Further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network and establish the full extent of its operations.
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