Two held in ₹44 lakh ‘digital arrest’ scam

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police arrested two more persons, including an assistant bank manager who allegedly swindled ₹44 lakh from an elderly person in ‘digital arrest scam.’ 

According to the police, Pattabi (83), a resident of Virugambakkam, received a WhatsApp call between September 1 and 12 from a man identifying himself as Shankar, claiming to be an Inspector at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Mumbai. The caller falsely accused Pattabi of engaging in illegal money transfers and of having deposited unlawful funds in his bank account, threatening him with arrest.

He further told the victim that if the money was legitimate, it could be verified by transferring it temporarily to a “Reserve Bank” account, from where it would be returned after verification. Believing this to be genuine, the complainant transferred ₹44 lakh, his entire savings and fixed deposits, in two installments via RTGS.

When the victim later tried to contact the caller, he was asked to transfer more money. Realising he had been cheated, Mr. Pattabi lodged a complaint with the Commissioner of Police. Based on which a case was registered by the Cyber Crime Wing. The probe revealed that ₹40.35 lakh had been transferred from the complainant’s account to an IndusInd Bank account in Telangana, which was then split across multiple accounts in various states and withdrawn through cheques.

Investigations also showed that the fraudsters were transferring the swindled money abroad on the same day. It was further found that ₹5.1 lakh had been credited from an account in Sholinghur, Ranipet district, and another ₹80 lakh had been moved across multiple accounts belonging to Lakshmanan (38) and Medi Sivakumar (41), both from Sholinghur. Both were arrested on October 10.  The fraudulent bank accounts were frozen.

Further investigation revealed that R. Ramachandramurthy (30), a native of Dharmapuri and Assistant Manager (Sales & Marketing) at a private bank’s Anna Salai branch, had facilitated the opening of multiple accounts used for receiving the scam money. Another suspect, Mohammed Musfiq (20) of Ramanathapuram, acted as a money transfer agent.

Both were traced and arrested in Chennai on Friday (October 26, 2025). Police seized two mobile phones and ten SIM cards used in the crime. The investigation is continuing to trace others involved, said police.