₹19 crore lost over 3 months? Gujarat doctor duped in cyber fraud, one suspect arrested from Surat
Over time, the doctor, overwhelmed by psychological pressure and threats, was manipulated into transferring her life’s savings Rs 19 crore into 35 different bank accounts.
- Jul 29, 2025,
- Updated Jul 29, 2025 2:12 PM IST
From Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, a doctor has become the victim of one of the country’s most shocking cyber frauds, losing Rs 19 crore over a span of three months in what investigators are calling a major ‘digital arrest’ scam.
The trouble began on March 15, when the doctor received a phone call from someone claiming that objectionable content had been detected on her mobile phone. The caller threatened to disconnect her phone connection and implicate her in a money laundering case if she did not cooperate. What followed was a series of coordinated and manipulative calls from individuals posing as officials including a sub-inspector and a public prosecutor all working in tandem to create fear and force her into submission.
Over time, the doctor, overwhelmed by psychological pressure and threats, was manipulated into transferring her life’s savings -- 19 crore into 35 different bank accounts. The fraudsters went further, using her credentials to take a loan against her gold jewellery and transferring those funds as well. Under constant intimidation, the doctor was compelled to share her movements over video calls, reporting her location whenever she stepped outside.
Then, without warning, the calls stopped. Realising something was wrong, the doctor informed her relatives, but by then, the damage had already been done. Acting on a complaint received on July 16, the cyber crime unit of Gujarat CID began probing the case. Investigators believe this may be one of the largest known cases of digital arrest fraud in India in terms of the money siphoned from a single victim.
Following an intense investigation, police tracked down and arrested one suspect in Surat, whose bank account had received Rs 1 crore of the stolen funds. He is currently under interrogation as authorities attempt to identify other members of the network behind the operation.
While a portion of the money has been traced, a large chunk remains unrecovered, having been dispersed across multiple accounts. The search for the masterminds is ongoing, with officials relying on digital evidence to map out the full extent of the scam
From Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, a doctor has become the victim of one of the country’s most shocking cyber frauds, losing Rs 19 crore over a span of three months in what investigators are calling a major ‘digital arrest’ scam.
The trouble began on March 15, when the doctor received a phone call from someone claiming that objectionable content had been detected on her mobile phone. The caller threatened to disconnect her phone connection and implicate her in a money laundering case if she did not cooperate. What followed was a series of coordinated and manipulative calls from individuals posing as officials including a sub-inspector and a public prosecutor all working in tandem to create fear and force her into submission.
Over time, the doctor, overwhelmed by psychological pressure and threats, was manipulated into transferring her life’s savings -- 19 crore into 35 different bank accounts. The fraudsters went further, using her credentials to take a loan against her gold jewellery and transferring those funds as well. Under constant intimidation, the doctor was compelled to share her movements over video calls, reporting her location whenever she stepped outside.
Then, without warning, the calls stopped. Realising something was wrong, the doctor informed her relatives, but by then, the damage had already been done. Acting on a complaint received on July 16, the cyber crime unit of Gujarat CID began probing the case. Investigators believe this may be one of the largest known cases of digital arrest fraud in India in terms of the money siphoned from a single victim.
Following an intense investigation, police tracked down and arrested one suspect in Surat, whose bank account had received Rs 1 crore of the stolen funds. He is currently under interrogation as authorities attempt to identify other members of the network behind the operation.
While a portion of the money has been traced, a large chunk remains unrecovered, having been dispersed across multiple accounts. The search for the masterminds is ongoing, with officials relying on digital evidence to map out the full extent of the scam