‘You funded Red Fort blast’: Fake NIA officers put Delhi couple under 7-day digital arrest

On November 23 last year, a 74-year-old retired Indian Railways employee was getting ready to attend a relative’s wedding when he received a call around 4 pm. “We are from the NIA (National Investigative Agency),” the caller said.

“It has been found that you were funding the Red Fort attack. Your account was used to fund the terrorists,” said the caller, according to the Delhi Police. The man was shocked. Just 10 days earlier, on November 10, a car blast at the historic fort had killed 13 people.

But the caller was not from the NIA. He was a cyber fraudster. Over the next seven days, police said, the elderly man and his wife were subjected to digital arrest and were eventually duped of Rs 30 lakh — their savings.

Police have since recovered Rs 12 lakh and arrested one of the accused in the case. They said the case shows how cyber fraudsters are increasingly using high-profile criminal cases, fake notices and the threat of arrest to make their targets believe they are caught up in a police investigation.

A police officer said that after the Red Fort blasts, the incident became a new ‘panic button’ for digital scammers to scare victims. “They will call them and tell them that they are named in the blast. It was a much more believable thing to sell victims since the incident was recent and its investigation was in the news,” says a police officer.

According to another police officer investigating the case, the fraudster warned the victim to keep quiet and not tell anyone about the case. The couple attended the wedding and returned to their home in Dwarka Sector 23.

The next day, police said, a man made a video call to the elderly citizen, claiming to be an NIA officer. Another man joined the call, claiming to be from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). “They told the victim that notices have been issued against him by the investigative agencies for funding the accounts of Umar Nabi — the man who allegedly blew up the car — and the other accused involved in the bombing,” said a police officer.

The fraudsters had him convinced that police were coming to arrest him if he didn’t cooperate and stay under digital arrest. On November 25, police said they sent him fake notices bearing the names and logos of the ATS, NIA and Supreme Court.

“He was made to sign a ‘confidentiality agreement’ sent on WhatsApp, agreeing to not talk about this investigation to anyone, not even his children,” said the officer. The couple lived alone. Their son and daughter were settled in other cities.

Over the next seven days, police said, the couple were put through what appeared to be an extensive investigation. “The fraudsters compelled them to disclose complete financial details, including details of bank accounts, fixed deposits and assets.

The victims were instructed to remain isolated and continuously monitored through calls and video conferencing,” said DCP (Crime Branch) Harsh Indora. Then, on December 3, police said the fraudsters told the victim that they were satisfied with their investigation and now only need to verify the source of his money.

They said he would have to transfer Rs 15 lakh to an RBI-approved account, and he would get it back after the bank verified it. That very day, police said, the victim broke his FD and took out Rs 30 lakh. “He sent Rs 15 lakh to the account given by the fraudsters.

The next day, they asked for Rs 15 lakh more for complete verification of the source that funded his FD. He gave that as well,” said a police officer. After this, the victim got a “verification letter” from the RBI, with the Governor’s stamp, confirming the RTGS transaction,” the officer added.

That was the last communication. The victim never heard from them again, and his money was gone. A case was lodged and the investigation was transferred to the Crime Branch.