Nagpur cyber police arrest seven in a week, solve four fraud cases worth Rs 34.51 crore

Nagpur City Cyber Police have arrested seven accused in just seven days. Four separate teams carried out the action through operations run simultaneously in several cities.

The operations uncovered four cyber fraud cases involving voice cloning, digital arrest, a fake investment platform and impersonation on WhatsApp. The investigation has also surfaced suspected links between some of the accused and an international cyber fraud network operating from Hong Kong and Dubai.

In the first case, a Nagpur resident was allegedly cheated of Rs 50 lakh. Cyber fraudsters allegedly used artificial intelligence-based voice cloning to imitate the voice of a well-known figure in the community. The same voice was allegedly used to create an emergency-like situation and ask for money. Police traced the accused to Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and arrested the person on October 28. Two mobile phones were seized from the accused.

The second case involves a resident of Bajaj Nagar, who was allegedly cheated of about Rs 32.87 crore. The victim was reportedly lured through fake investment advertisements on Instagram and then added to a fake trading channel, where good profits were promised. During the investigation, police arrested two more accused from the Mumbai region on October 30. Investigators have allegedly found suspected links to an international cyber fraud network connected to Hong Kong and Dubai.

Police seized several electronic devices and financial documents, including mobile phones, SIM cards, laptops, digital signature certificate tokens, bank chequebooks, debit cards and identity cards. The seized items are valued at about Rs 20 lakh.

The third case is one of digital arrest. A Nagpur resident was allegedly threatened by people posing as officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The fraudsters allegedly claimed the person had links to terrorists and used forged documents and video calls to intimidate the victim. Under the pretext of a digital arrest, the victim was allegedly made to transfer Rs 1.04 crore to several bank accounts through RTGS. Two accused were arrested from Mumbai in this case on October 28.

In the fourth case, the manager of the Union Bank branch at Jaripatka was allegedly cheated of Rs 9.5 lakh. A person claiming to be an employee of a motor company reportedly contacted the manager, sent a fake APK file on WhatsApp and persuaded the manager to send money by RTGS. The accused was traced to Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and arrested on October 30.

The four cases together allegedly involved a total loss of about Rs 34.51 crore.

The operations were carried out under the guidance of senior Nagpur Police officers, including Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil, Joint Commissioner Navinchandra Reddy and other senior officers.

The action shows how complex cyber crime is becoming. Criminals are now targeting ordinary people using artificial intelligence, digital impersonation, fake investment platforms and social engineering.