BENGALURU: Former Aurad MLA Gundappa Vakil was kept under ‘digital arrest’ for eight days and duped of Rs 30.99 lakh, after fraudsters set up a fake police station and courtroom through video calls.
According to the FIR registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, the victim, Vakil (72), a resident of Jonnekeri village in Aurad, received a phone call on August 12 from a man claiming to be a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer.
The caller told him that during a raid at Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal’s residence, a bank account and ATM card in Vakil’s name had been recovered, allegedly linking him to money laundering. The fraudster then collected his personal and property details.
The following day, Vakil received another call from a person impersonating Neeraj Kumar, DCP, who introduced himself as the investigating officer.
The caller showed him a fabricated FIR copy and an arrest warrant over video call and threatened immediate arrest. When Vakil requested exemption from investigation, the fake officer said he would be placed under “digital arrest” through constant video surveillance and warned him not to disclose the matter to anyone.
The next day, Vakil was produced before a fake judge on video call. After brief arguments, the judge directed him to transfer Rs 10.99 lakh via RTGS to a specified bank account and to cooperate with the probe.
Over the next four days, the fraudsters repeatedly questioned him via video calls, extracting his family, bank, and property details. Subsequently, Vakil was again made to appear before the fake judge, who ordered him to deposit Rs 20 lakh so that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI could verify his accounts and properties, assuring him the money would be returned after verification. Vakil complied, only to later realize he had been scammed.
The police said they are tracking the money trail through multiple bank accounts and further investigation is underway.