A 62-year-old farmer from Dakshina Kannada allegedly lost Rs 1.31 crore in a digital arrest scam after fraudsters posing as Mumbai Police, Anti-Terrorism Squad officers and an IPS officer accused him of funding the Pahalgam terrorist attack, officials said.
The farmer was allegedly kept under continuous video surveillance for nearly one-and-a-half months and pressured to transfer money, close fixed deposits, pledge gold and take loans. He realised he had been defrauded only after his daughter, who lives in Bengaluru, warned him about similar digital arrest scams.
According to the FIR, the fraud began on August 27 when the farmer received a call from an unknown number. The caller, speaking in Hindi and English, claimed that money laundering linked to people accused in the Pahalgam attack had been traced to the farmer’s name. He allegedly told the farmer that the Bombay High Court had issued an arrest warrant and that the offence could attract a death sentence or life imprisonment.
A second caller then joined a WhatsApp video call, identifying himself as an investigating officer of the Mumbai ATS. The caller allegedly described the matter as “top secret”, ordered the farmer to sit in a closed room and instructed him not to speak to family members or friends. The farmer was told to appear before the ATS in Mumbai within 48 hours and was made to send an hourly message stating, “Case Code RS 7457 I am safe and secure”.
On August 29, the callers allegedly sent WhatsApp documents described as Bombay High Court arrest and freezing control orders. A purported IPS officer later took over the conversation and promised to protect the farmer if he followed instructions. The callers questioned him about his bank accounts, fixed deposits and gold kept in a locker.
The farmer was allegedly directed to close his and his mother’s fixed deposits and move the funds into his account. He was then told to transfer the money to an “RBI account” for verification. When asked by the bank about one transaction, he was allegedly instructed to say that the money was for purchasing a house for his daughter in Bengaluru.
The FIR states that the farmer transferred Rs 35 lakh through RTGS from a Canara Bank branch to an account in Hyderabad. He was subsequently allegedly forced to pledge gold at an Axis Bank branch in Puttur and obtained a loan of Rs 22.5 lakh. The callers then told him to mortgage his commercial building, warning that it would otherwise be seized. He obtained a Rs 74-lakh loan from Karnataka Bank and transferred the amount through RTGS the following day.
The police have registered a case involving identity theft, impersonation, wrongful restraint, extortion, cheating and criminal intimidation. Investigators said the initial transfers were made to accounts in the names of Priyanka Engineering Projects Pvt Ltd, Nandi Hardwares Electricals and Paints, Desire India Project and Tanmay Traders. These accounts appear to be mule accounts, police said.
A police officer said investigators had written to the banks seeking details of the account holders. The officer added that the money had already been diverted through other accounts, making the trail “very complicated”. The investigation is continuing.
