New Delhi: The Delhi Police has cracked down on a major cyber fraud syndicate, arresting three individuals for scamming an 82-year-old woman out of ₹1.16 crore using the coercive “digital arrest” technique.

The victim, a resident of South Delhi, was intimidated on April 25 by fraudsters impersonating law enforcement officials via video call, who displayed a fake arrest order. Under intense psychological pressure and threat of legal action, the elderly woman was forced to transfer the massive sum through RTGS.

Police investigation revealed that the majority of the money was routed to a current account belonging to a Himachal Pradesh-based NGO, which was secretly operated by the fraudsters from Patna, Bihar. This single account is linked to 32 other fraud complaints, totaling ₹24 crore.

The arrested suspects—Prabhakar Kumar (Bihar), Rupesh Kumar Singh (Bihar), and Dev Raj (Himachal Pradesh)—played roles ranging from installing malicious software and coordinating transactions to handing over an NGO’s bank credentials for money laundering.

Police have managed to freeze and return ₹17 lakh to the victim. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining amount and apprehend other members of the extensive syndicate.