Hans News Service New Delhi

A retired Indian Army colonel was allegedly cheated of Rs 15.50 lakh in a “digital arrest” cyber-fraud in which fraudsters impersonated police and enforcement officials, an officer said on Friday.

The Delhi Police said that they have arrested four people, accused of facilitating the racket by supplying mule bank accounts to cyber-fraud syndicates linked to operators in Cambodia and UAE/Dubai. The accused were arrested from Punjab and Rajasthan, and four mobile phones and six SIM cards allegedly used in the commission of cyber offences were recovered, police said on Friday.

According to police, the beneficiary bank account into which the retired colonel transferred the money has been linked to 17 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) across multiple states and Union territories.

The complaints involve fraudulent transactions running into crores of rupees, indicating that the account was allegedly being used as part of a wider cyber-fraud network, police said. “The case came to light after the retired colonel, a resident of Munirka Enclave, filed a complaint through the NCRP alleging that he had been cheated of Rs 15.50 lakh,” a senior police officer said.