Nashik resident duped of Rs 71 lakh in digital arrest scam over false money laundering charge

A serious case of fraud involving Rs 71 lakh has come to light in Nashik. It is alleged that the money was extorted by invoking fear of terror activities and threatening to implicate the victim in a money laundering case. A case has been registered under various sections at the cyber police station, and police are investigating further.

According to the complainant, all of this happened between September 28, 2026 and October 17, 2026. During this period the complainant was at home, and the entire affair was conducted over mobile phone and the internet.

The accused contacted the complainant and said that two terrorists had been arrested in the "Kashmir case JK 9527". They also said the complainant's Aadhaar card had been found on both of them. On this basis, a false story was built that an account had been opened in the complainant's name at HDFC Bank and Rs 70 crore had been laundered through it.

The complainant was frightened with the claim that their property would be seized and that they would be arrested immediately. Under the pretext of verifying the money they held, the accused made them deposit a total of Rs 71 lakh into different bank accounts. When the complainant realised they had been badly cheated, they went to the cyber police station.

A case has been registered against Seema Roy, who made contact by mobile number. Her WhatsApp numbers are given as 91 7902084517 and 91 9371429807. The names Vikram Singh and Rakesh Agarwal are also involved. A case has also been registered against unidentified persons who made contact through the Signal app, and against holders of accounts in three private banks that were used to move the defrauded money around.

The accounts used for the deposits are said to be with Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Canara Bank. The suspect names mentioned are Seema Roy, Vikram Singh and Rakesh Agarwal.

The basis of the threat was that the complainant was in touch with the terrorists in the Kashmir case, and a false allegation of laundering Rs 70 crore was made against them. The case is being investigated by Senior Police Inspector Sushila Kolhe of the cyber police station.