Howrah — Chandigarh Police have arrested a 34-year-old man from Howrah in connection with a reported digital arrest scam that allegedly defrauded a Chandigarh resident of ₹9,51,347, law-enforcement officials said on Saturday.
Case registered in Chandigarh, accused held in Howrah
The accused has been identified as Raj Kumar Shaw, who was apprehended by officers of Police Station Cyber Crime, Sector 17, Chandigarh, following technical and field investigations into the complaint, the police statement said. The case was registered as FIR No. 102 dated September 27, 2024 and is lodged under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police said the complainant, a resident of Chandigarh, alleged that a sum of ₹9,51,347 had been transferred from her bank account after she was threatened with a so-called digital arrest and accused of involvement in money laundering and human trafficking. Subsequent analysis of the money trail, according to the investigating team, showed that the defrauded amount was credited to a bank account linked to Shaw.
"Rs 9,51,347 was transferred from her bank account after she was threatened with a digital arrest."
Acting on leads from device logs and banking traces, a Chandigarh cyber-crime team conducted a raid in Howrah and arrested Shaw, who was later sent to judicial custody. The police statement said that during interrogation the accused disclosed the involvement of at least one other person, and further action is underway to identify and apprehend additional suspects.
Charges and investigative supervision
The FIR lists several sections of the BNS. Police named the supervisory and investigative officers involved in the operation: the arrest was made under the direction of SP-Cyber Geetanjali Khandelwal, IPS, with guidance from the DSP Cyber Crime and IT and supervision of the SHO of Police Station Cyber Crime, Sector 17.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Accused | Raj Kumar Shaw (34), resident of Howrah |
| Complainant | Resident of Chandigarh |
| Amount allegedly stolen | ₹9,51,347 |
| FIR | No. 102 dated 27 Sept 2024 |
Context and local implications
Digital-extortion tactics like threats of immediate arrest over phone calls or emails have emerged as a growing vector of fraud across India. Authorities often report that the Victim, frightened by allegations of grave offences such as money laundering or human trafficking, transfers funds to accounts specified by the fraudsters. The Chandigarh Cyber Crime unit noted that technical tracing of bank transfers and account linkages was key to locating the account that received the funds and subsequently led investigators to Howrah.
For residents of Howrah and surrounding districts, the case underlines the cross-jurisdictional nature of cybercrime: suspects and mule accounts may be located far from the complainant, and collaborative probes between state cyber units are increasingly common. Officials cautioned citizens to verify unexpected legal notices and to consult local police before transferring funds in response to threats.
Police also made reference to earlier operations: officers in the South West District’s Cyber Police Station had previously dismantled a syndicate with links to foreign fraud networks that supplied mule bank accounts to overseas fraudsters. The current probe in Howrah forms part of Chandigarh Police’s wider efforts to pursue the money trail and the organised networks behind digital frauds.
Next steps in the investigation
- Chandigarh Cyber Crime team is continuing technical analysis of call records and bank transactions.
- Investigators are working to identify and arrest other persons allegedly involved, as disclosed by the arrested accused.
- Judicial custody has been ordered for the arrested Howrah resident while enquiries continue.
The Cyber Crime unit has not yet released further details about the alleged accomplices or the exact banking intermediaries used. Further updates will depend on the outcome of ongoing forensic and field investigations, police said.
