Goa police arrest two in Nagaon over Rs 1.42 Cr digital arrest cyber scam
The arrested were allegedly duping victims through a ‘digital arrest’ scam, posing as law enforcement officials to extort money.
The arrested in the digital arrest fraud case (AT Image)
Raha, January 30: In the fight against organised cyber fraud, the Goa Police on Thursday arrested two inter-state cybercrime suspects from Nagaon district in connection with a high-value ‘digital arrest’ scam that allegedly defrauded victims of nearly Rs 1.42 crore.
The accused have been identified as Yasmina Ahmed and Asadul Islam, residents of the Shimaluguri and Itapara areas under Nagaon Sadar Police Station limits.
According to investigators, the duo were part of a larger cybercrime racket that targeted unsuspecting victims across states by impersonating police officers and officials of central security agencies.
Inspector Vikash Jaikar of the Goa Police Cyber Crime Cell said the accused used phone calls, WhatsApp video calls and other social media platforms to intimidate victims and coerce them into transferring large sums of money.
“The modus operandi involved posing as law enforcement or central agency officials and threatening victims with arrest or legal action unless immediate payments were made,” he said.
Acting on a complaint registered in Goa, a special investigation team led by Inspector Jaikar travelled to Nagaon to trace the origin of the fraudulent calls. The operation was carried out with the assistance of the Nagaon Police.
Refining his statement, Inspector Jaikar said, “A case involving a ‘digital arrest’ fraud amounting to Rs 1.42 crore was registered in Goa. During the technical investigation, the location of the calls repeatedly traced back to Nagaon. Based on this, we arrived here and coordinated with the local police.”
He further revealed that crucial leads emerged from an earlier case.
“We met the Officer-in-Charge of Nagaon Sadar Police Station, Debajit Das, who had conducted a similar operation in December and arrested four accused. Mobile phones and SIM cards were seized at that time. When we analysed our data, we found that several calls made to victims in Goa originated from those very SIM cards. Four IMEI numbers matched, strengthening the link. Based on this evidence, we arrested two more accused today,” Joikar added.
The Goa Police team has been investigating the case intensively for the past five days, tracking digital footprints and call records to identify the accused and establish their role in the racket.
Officials confirmed that the arrested individuals will be taken to Goa on transit remand for further interrogation and investigation.
Notably, in December last year, the Goa Police had arrested two other individuals in Nagaon in connection with similar cyber fraud cases, indicating that the district has emerged as a recurring hub for such inter-state cybercrime operations.