86-Year-Old Woman Duped of ₹20 Crore in ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam

86-Year-Old Woman Scammed of ₹20 Crore in ‘Digital Arrest’ Case, Two Arrested

Mumbai: In a cyber fraud case that has left everyone stunned, the south cyber police of the Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested two people for allegedly conning more than ₹20 crore from an 86-year-old woman in South Mumbai by accusing her of a money laundering case. The accused even went to the extent of saying that they had digitally arrested her within her home to coerce her into sending the money.

The suspects who were arrested have been named as Shayan Jamil Sheikh (20) and Rajik Azam Butt (20), who are residents of Malad (West) and Mira Road (East), respectively. The investigators are of the view that Butt is connected to an international fraud network since he had apparently formed a group of 13 foreign nationals on messaging app Telegram, where he allegedly provided information of Indian bank accounts to make it easy for fraudulent operations.

The Scam: Coercion and Fear

The scam occurred between December 26, 2024, and March 3, 2025, according to police authorities. The suspects pretended to be police officers and first called the elderly woman last year, accusing her of operating a large-scale money laundering scheme.

The callers stated that her Aadhar card and other information had been misused to create a bank account in Indian Bank, said to be connected with illegal money laundering. They threatened her with immediate action from the police and even dragged her daughter into the false case,” a policeman said.

In order to frighten her, the scammers intimidated her into thinking she was being placed under a ‘digital arrest’ within her own home and made her remit more than ₹20.25 crore to different bank accounts.

Investigation and Arrests

Upon discovering that she was being cheated, the elderly lady lodged a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Platform and then went to the south cyber police station.

During the probe, police tracked the fake transactions to several bank accounts, one of which was held by Shayan Jamil Sheikh.

“Approximately ₹4.99 lakh of the amount duped was deposited into his account. When we started tracking him, we got his address, but he was not there. He was finally caught in the MHB Colony in Malad’s Malwani area,” an officer said.

During interrogation, Shayan confessed to having withdrawn ₹4.99 lakh and handed it over to his accomplice Rayan Arshad Sheikh, who gave it to Rajik Azam Butt.

Police also carried out a search operation in the vicinity of Saubhagya Park Housing Society in Mira Road to find Rajik and Rayan. While Rayan escaped, Rajik was apprehended on the spot.

International Fraud Network Uncovered

During the probe, police seized mobile phones from Shayan and Rajik and found connections to a global fraud network.

The investigators discovered that Butt had established a Telegram group of 13 foreign nationals through which he is suspected to have shared details of Indian bank accounts with masterminds based overseas.

“It seems that the ₹4.99 lakh and ₹6.98 lakh sent to Shayan’s and another suspect’s accounts were routed further to overseas masterminds through Telegram,” an officer said.

Police suspect both arrested suspects are part of an international gang of fraudsters and were directly involved in the crime. The probe is now on to detect other bank accounts involved in the fraud and locate the absconding accused, Rayan Arshad Sheikh.

Authorities have urged citizens to remain vigilant against similar cyber scams and report any suspicious calls or fraudulent activities immediately.