CBI Cracks Down on Digital Arrest Scams, Arrests 5 More Under Operation Chakra-VI:

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested five more people in its nationwide crackdown on digital arrest scams under Operation Chakra-VI. With these arrests, the total number of accused persons arrested in the cases has reached eight.

The latest arrests come after the CBI earlier conducted searches at 89 locations across 20 states as part of its investigation into three major digital arrest scam cases. The action was carried out following directions from the Supreme Court of India, which had taken serious note of the growing number of such crimes.

The three cases involve victims from BITS Pilani, Gujarat and Karnataka. In the BITS Pilani case, a victim was kept under digital arrest for three months and cheated of Rs 7.67 crore by scammers posing as police officers. In Gujarat, another victim was digitally detained for three months and lost Rs 19.24 crore. A Karnataka victim was kept under digital arrest for about a month and was allegedly cheated of Rs 15.45 crore.

The earlier searches had resulted in the arrest of three accused - Akash from Haryana, Raja Karmakar from Kolkata and Jyoti Rani. The CBI said they were allegedly involved in receiving, transferring and withdrawing the fraud money to help hide its trail.

The latest arrests include Sanket Bastwar and Pankaj Damade from Itarsi. The CBI alleges that the two arranged a bank account, received digital arrest scam money into it and helped transfer the funds through other accounts.

Three other accused -Arif alias King Bhai, Harish Purushottam Yadav alias Harry from New Delhi and Shashank Singh alias Ravi from Ghaziabad were allegedly involved in arranging bank accounts to receive and move the stolen money through multiple accounts.

According to the CBI, these three accused also installed a malicious APK file on a bank account holder's mobile phone. The software allegedly allowed them to intercept bank SMS alerts and secretly operate the account.

The investigation has now started revealing the larger organised network involved in receiving, moving and hiding the fraud money. The CBI is continuing its efforts to identify and arrest other people linked to the network.

The agency said it remains committed to taking strict action against digital arrest scams and organised cybercrime and bringing all those involved to justice.