Bhubaneswar: Investigating a digital arrest case in Bhubaneswar, the CID-Crime Branch of the Odisha Police arrested two persons including a woman from Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh.

The Cyber Crime Unit team of the Crime Branch arrested Neelam Aggarwal and son Vansh Aggarwal from Ghaziabad for their alleged involvement in the digital arrest case registered in the CID CB Cyber Police Station. The accused were part of a wider network of cyber fraudsters who were operating a fraud company on the pretext of a gaming platform.

Based on the complaint of a senior citizen from Bhubaneswar, the Crime Branch launched an investigation. The sleuths arrested the mother-son duo and brought them on transit remand to Odisha on December 27, 2024.

The complainant stated he got calls from some unknown mobile numbers and toll-free number on May 22, 2024 during which callers impersonated themselves as the personnel of Fedex Courier Office personnel and officials of the Mumbai Cyber Crime Division. 

The callers told the complainant that his Aadhaar Card was hacked by some miscreant and used for money laundering. They also told the complainant a criminal case had been registered against him in this connection and he might undergo jail term of three to seven years.

Moreover, the callers asked him to transfer all of his money to an account provided by them for verification. They also stated the complete amount would be reverted back to his account later.

Crime Branch official sources stated the callers forced the complainant to transfer ₹1.37 Cr in three different accounts on different occasions. 

During the course of investigation, the Crime Branch found that out of the total amount, the complainant deposited ₹1.12 Crore in the account of Vansheel Software Private Limited whose proprietors are Neelam Aggarwal and Vansh Aggarwal of Ghaziabad.

The Crime Branch team went to Ghaziabad and arrested Neelam and Vansh from the Vijay Nagar Police Station area. 

They had created around 13 accounts for siphoning off the defrauded amount. The accounts were created at PNB and SBI in different branches at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. 

The official sources added the accused were previously arrested by the Mandir Marg Cyber Crime Police Station, New Delhi in Case No.17/2024, which was also a digital arrest case modus operandi and the cheated approximately ₹63 lakh. 

The  National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) verification showed the duo are involved in more than 15 cases in different States throughout the country, the Crime Branch official sources stated. 

Investigation of the digital arrest case in the Odisha Capital is under progress.