Elderly Man 'Digitally Arrested', Duped of Over Rs 18 Lakh By Cyber Fraudster In Almora
Police have arrested the accused, and an investigation is underway to arrest the other members of the gang
Published : October 16, 2025 at 8:08 PM IST
Almora: An elderly man was duped of over Rs 18 lakh by a cyber fraudster, who digitally arrested him for 10 days while posing as a crime branch officer in Uttarakhand's Almora, officials said on Thursday. Uttarakhand Police have arrested the accused, identified as Sahil Kumar (24), son of Krishna Kumar, in connection with the case, they said.
According to police, on September 5, 2025, Gopal Dutt, a resident of the Deghat area, filed a complaint at the police station stating that an unknown person, claiming to be involved in a bank fraud, confined him to his house and defrauded him of Rs 18,30,000.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the unknown person at the Deghat police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was initiated.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Devendra Pincha formed a team to trace the fraudster. The investigation was conducted under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police Harbans Singh and Circle Officer (CO) Ranikhet Vimal Prasad, while SOG Inspector Bhuvan Joshi and Deghat Police Station in-charge Ajendra Prasad led the probe.
On October 14, Sahil Kumar was arrested, and the investigation is underway to arrest the other members of the gang. According to the police, the fraud started on August 25, 2025, when Gopal received a WhatsApp call from a person claiming his phone number was being used for illegal activities. Soon after, another caller, posing as a Crime Branch officer from Delhi, accused him of involvement in a major bank fraud case and told him he was being "digitally arrested".
The accused then extracted details of his household assets, jewellery, and bank deposits, instructing him to withdraw his fixed deposits and transfer the money for "investigation purposes." The fraudsters then told Gopal that the case was under investigation and that the entire money would be returned to him soon. When the funds were not returned, the victim realised he had been conned.
Pincha said that there is no legal process for digital arrest within the police or any other department. He urged that no one should fall prey to cyber fraud. If anyone is ever a victim of cyber fraud, they should inform the helpline number 1930 for swift action.
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