Delhi Police continue to track the money trail and identify those behind the scam, while urging citizens, especially senior citizens, to remain alert against such cyber frauds
New Delhi police have frozen an additional ₹60 lakh in a major cyber fraud case involving an elderly NRI doctor couple, taking the total amount put on hold to nearly ₹2 crore. The case relates to a large-scale “digital arrest” scam in which the victims were allegedly cheated of around ₹15 crore.
The victims, Dr Indra Taneja, aged 77, and her husband Dr Om Taneja, aged 81, live in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash-II. According to investigators, the couple was kept under digital arrest from December 24 to January 9, during which time fraudsters posing as officials pressured them into transferring large sums of money.
Police sources said the frozen funds were traced to bank accounts spread across seven states. Investigators are also examining whether a portion of the money was moved overseas using cryptocurrency, which could make recovery more complex
Out of the total amount cheated, estimated at ₹14.8 crore, the largest share—₹4 crore—was transferred to a bank account in Vadodara, Gujarat. On December 26, about ₹1.9 crore was sent to Jalukbari in Guwahati, Assam. This was followed by two transfers of ₹2 crore each on December 29 and 30 to Sama Savli, also in Vadodara.
Further transfers took place across the country in quick succession. On January 2, ₹2 crore was routed to Mayur Vihar Phase III in east Delhi. Another ₹2 crore was sent to Nepean Sea Road in Mumbai on January 5. On January 6, ₹2.1 crore went to Wazidpur in Uttar Pradesh, followed by ₹2.2 crore to Moulali in Kolkata on January 8. The final known transfer of ₹50 lakh was made to Belada in Uttarakhand on January 9.
