Fake Cops Put Mumbai Woman Under ‘Digital Arrest’, Cheat Her Of Rs 4.5 Lakh

The victim was allegedly threatened with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case before being made to deposit Rs 4.5 lakh into a bank account.

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Mumbai woman cheated of Rs 4.5 lakh.

Scammers used “digital arrest” tactic.

One accused arrested in the case.

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A 71-year-old woman from Mumbai was allegedly subjected to a ‘digital arrest’ scam, with cyber fraudsters posing as senior police officers and threatening her with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case. (AI-Generated Image)

A 71-year-old woman from Mumbai was allegedly subjected to a ‘digital arrest’ scam, with cyber fraudsters posing as senior police officers and threatening her with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case. The accused allegedly kept her under virtual surveillance through WhatsApp calls and eventually forced her to transfer Rs 4.5 lakh.

The incident came to light after the woman, a resident of Dahisar East, approached the police. According to the complaint, she was contacted by unidentified persons between August 2 and August 3, 2026. One of the callers allegedly claimed to be a senior police officer and introduced himself as Rajesh Mishra, using the identity of a police officer to make the threat appear genuine.

The fraudsters allegedly told the woman that a money laundering case had been registered in her name and that she was facing arrest. Instead of physically taking her into custody, the accused allegedly kept her connected to them through WhatsApp calls, creating a situation in which she was made to believe that she was being monitored by the police. This virtual intimidation is a common feature of the increasingly prevalent ‘digital arrest’ fraud.

The accused allegedly demanded details of her bank accounts and the amount available in them, claiming that her accounts had to be verified as part of the investigation. After obtaining the financial details, they allegedly instructed her to transfer money as part of the purported verification process.

The woman was allegedly made to deposit Rs 4.5 lakh into a State Bank of India account. Police later traced the money and found that the amount had been routed to a current account with IndusInd Bank held in the name of Mahakal Enterprises.

The investigation then moved towards identifying the person controlling the beneficiary account. Dahisar police conducted a technical investigation and examined the email address linked to the bank account, along with login details used around the time of the transaction. The digital trail eventually led investigators to Dhirajkumar Kesaram Prajapati, 28, a resident of Kamathipura, Mumbai.

Police arrested Prajapati in connection with the case. Investigators found that the Rs 4.5 lakh obtained from the victim had been deposited into the IndusInd Bank account and that the email ID linked to the transaction was accessed through Prajapati’s mobile phone. Police suspect that he was an active participant in the wider cyber fraud operation.

The case has been registered at Dahisar Police Station under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The case is another warning about how cybercriminals exploit fear of arrest and the authority of law enforcement. Police have urged citizens to remember that no genuine police officer or investigating agency conducts an arrest or legal investigation through WhatsApp video calls or demands money for ‘verification’.

Anyone receiving such threats should immediately disconnect, avoid transferring money and report the incident on 1930, the national cybercrime helpline, or through cybercrime.gov.in and sancharsaathi.gov.in.

About the Author

Mayuresh Ganapatye

Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. Follow him at @…Read More

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