Mumbai: In a disturbing trend of cyber fraud targeting senior citizens in Mumbai, two elderly individuals were collectively defrauded of Rs4.79 crore by scammers posing as officials from the Telecom Department, Delhi Police, Colaba Police, and the CBI. The victims, 82-year-old Bidhin Manharlal Bakshi from Vile Parle (West) and 68-year-old Dhanalakshmi Satyanarayan Rao Naidu from Andheri (West), lodged complaints with the West Region Cyber Police Station, leading to FIRs against unidentified perpetrators under sections of the BNS and the Information Technology Act for impersonation, forgery, cheating, and criminal intimidation.

On September 30, Bakshi received a WhatsApp video call from an individual claiming to be Pawan Kumar from the Telecom Department in Delhi, alleging that Bakshi’s Aadhaar card was misused to open a fake Canara Bank account linked to illegal international transactions. Subsequent calls from fraudsters posing as Delhi Police sub-inspector Khushi Sharma and CBI officer Hemraj Kohli escalated the deception, claiming a criminal case was registered against him at Connaught Place Police Station. They warned of an imminent arrest warrant for Bakshi and his family unless he complied. Convinced by their threats, Bakshi transferred Rs1.08 crore from his and his wife’s accounts to “safe accounts” for a so-called clearance certificate, under strict instructions not to inform anyone.

Similarly, on August 18, Naidu received a call from a man identifying himself as Vijay Paul, connecting her to “SK Jaiswal” from Colaba Police via a WhatsApp video call. The fraudsters accused her of involvement in a Rs6 crore money laundering case linked to a Canara Bank account opened with her Aadhaar details, citing a fake case (HQ No. 8817) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. They claimed she was under investigation alongside businessman Naresh Goyal. A sham “online hearing” with a fake judge named Chandrachud denied her bail, pressuring her to transfer Rs3.71 crore from her mutual funds via RTGS for “security verification.” The scammers later demanded more money and became evasive when Naidu sought a refund.

Both victims, realising they were deceived, approached the West Region Cyber Police. Naidu also reported the fraud via the 1930 cybercrime helpline, providing chats, transaction details, and screenshots. The police are investigating the use of forged police and CBI logos, fabricated FIRs, and fake letters.

Agartala, Oct 18: The Tripura Police, in coordination with intelligence agencies, have intensified their anti-narcotics operations over the past 10 days, leading to significant seizures of contraband substances across the state, Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Saturday.

Taking to various social media platforms, the Chief Minister Saha informed that during the past 10 days, the police recovered 896 kg of ganja (cannabis), 90,617 bottles of cough syrup, 180 highly addictive methamphetamine tablets, and 27.78 grams of heroin from different locations.

A total of 15 cases under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 have been registered, and 16 accused persons have been arrested in connection with the seizures of various drugs.

Saha, who also holds the home portfolio, said that the Tripura Police reaffirmed their commitment to make the state free from the menace of drugs and to bring all key players involved in the illicit trade under the purview of law.

The state government, following a policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards drugs, has been working resolutely to secure a drug-free future for the youth of Tripura, he stated.

Meanwhile, various security forces, including Assam Rifles, have confiscated drugs worth over Rs 134.50 crore in Tripura in less than three weeks. On Friday (October 17), in a joint operation, security forces recovered drugs worth Rs 4.5 crore from a goods train stationed at the Jirania railway station in West Tripura district, arriving from Delhi.

A senior official said that the Tripura Police, Assam Rifles, Government Railway Police (GRP), Special Task Force (STF) and the Customs jointly conducted a thorough search of the goods train and recovered 90,000 bottles of banned Eskuf Cough Syrup, which contains Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine Hydrochloride, substances commonly misused as narcotics in India and neighbouring Bangladesh.

Police have continued their search operations to trace the main accused responsible for transporting the banned Eskuf cough syrup by train from Delhi.

On October 6, in one of the major drug hauls, the Assam Rifles, in close coordination with Customs officials, seized contraband valued at Rs 70 crore in Tripura’s bordering Khowai district and arrested four drug peddlers.

Acting on secret inputs, the joint team of Assam Rifles and Customs officials intercepted two trucks carrying cement as cover cargo for narcotics trafficking and recovered 69.61 kg of highly addictive methamphetamine tablets valued at around Rs 70 crore.

A Defence spokesperson had said that the October 6 operation was a follow-up to a successful operation conducted on September 29 in the bordering Mohanpur area of West Tripura district. The September 29 operation led to the recovery of 60.77 kg of banned methamphetamine tablets worth Rs 60 crore.

A senior police official said that the drugs seized on September 29 and October 6 might have been smuggled from Myanmar and transported through Mizoram and southern Assam to Tripura, from where they were intended to be smuggled into neighbouring Bangladesh.

Tripura, which shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh, is surrounded on three sides by the neighbouring country, making the northeastern state vulnerable to cross-border migration, crimes, illegal trade and smuggling. Except for some patches, most parts of the frontier have been fenced to prevent smuggling, trans-border crimes and illegal infiltration.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested a 60-year-old man from the Versova area of Mumbai for allegedly possessing fake identity documents linked to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

The man, identified as Akhtar Hussaini, held BARC identity cards, forged documents, and several suspicious papers.

During the search, authorities recovered counterfeit BARC identity cards, forged documents, and several suspicious papers from Hussaini’s possession.

According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, the fraudster is currently in custody and being interrogated to ascertain the motive behind creating the fake documents.

Further investigation is underway to determine if any larger network or criminal activity is involved.

A day earlier in another case, the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Crime Branch successfully executed a targeted operation, resulting in the arrest of 12 cybercriminals and the dismantling of well-organised cyber scam syndicates operating across multiple states.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of ACP Anil Sharma, comprising teams led by Inspector Sandeep Singh, Inspector Ashok Kumar, Inspector Shivram, and Inspector Subash.

In the first operation, the Cyber Cell, Crime Branch, Delhi, successfully arrested three accused persons and dismantled a digital arrest fraud module operating from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, police said.

The case FIR dated July 5, under sections 308/318(4)/319/340 BNS, PS Cyber South, Delhi, was registered for cheating to the tune of Rs 42.49 lakh through an elaborate digital arrest scam.

The fraudsters, posing as police officials, falsely accused the elderly victim of involvement in a money laundering case and, through fear and psychological manipulation, induced him to transfer money into multiple mule accounts traced to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the release said.