New Delhi, September 4, 2026: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a major nationwide crackdown on organised “digital arrest” fraud networks, conducting coordinated searches at 89 locations across 20 States and arresting three persons allegedly involved in receiving, layering and dispersing proceeds of cybercrime.
The searches were carried out on Friday under Operation Chakra-VI in connection with three high-value digital arrest cases involving combined alleged losses of ₹42.36 crore.
According to the CBI, the operation was planned following detailed financial and technical analysis of the fraud cases, including scrutiny of bank transactions and online account-access data. The three cases had earlier been registered by respective State police forces before being taken over by the central agency for further investigation.
Victims Lost ₹42.36 Crore in Three Digital Arrest Cases
The investigation centres on three cases in which victims were allegedly kept under prolonged “digital arrest” by fraudsters posing as law-enforcement officials.
In one case linked to BITS Pilani, a victim was allegedly kept under digital arrest for nearly three months and cheated of ₹7.67 crore. The fraudsters allegedly impersonated police officers and maintained continuous psychological pressure on the victim while demanding money.
A second case involved a resident of Gujarat who was allegedly subjected to a similar ordeal for approximately three months and defrauded of ₹19.24 crore.
The third case was registered in Karnataka, where a victim was allegedly coerced for around a month and made to transfer ₹15.45 crore.
Together, the three cases account for alleged losses of ₹42.36 crore.
Digital arrest scams generally involve fraudsters contacting victims through telephone or video calls and falsely claiming that they are implicated in serious criminal cases. Victims may be threatened with arrest or prosecution and pressured into remaining continuously available on video calls while being discouraged from contacting family members or authorities.
The fraudsters then demand large transfers under various pretexts, including verification of bank accounts, bail, security deposits or checks on supposedly illegal assets.
Three Accused Arrested
The CBI arrested three persons after investigators allegedly established their roles in handling money obtained from the victims.
CBI spokesperson Beena Yadav said examination of the arrested accused had brought out their “specific and material role in receiving, layering and dispersing the fraud proceeds.”
One of the accused, identified as Akash, a resident of Haryana, allegedly received ₹1.95 crore of the defrauded money in a bank account opened by him. Investigators allege that the funds were transferred to other accounts on the same day.
Another accused, Raja Karmakar of Kolkata, allegedly received ₹1.5 crore in the bank account of his firm.
The third accused, Jyoti Rani, allegedly received part of the proceeds of the fraud in her account. According to the investigation, she subsequently withdrew a portion of the money in cash and transferred the remaining amount to other bank accounts, allegedly in an attempt to obscure the financial trail.
The arrests were reported from Haryana and Kolkata.
The CBI has indicated that the three arrested persons were allegedly part of the money-movement infrastructure supporting the fraud rather than necessarily being the callers who initially contacted and threatened the victims.
Banking Records and Digital Devices Seized
During the searches across 20 States, CBI teams recovered banking documents, account-related records, digital devices and other material considered relevant to the investigation.
The seized devices and records are being subjected to forensic examination as investigators attempt to reconstruct the movement of the stolen funds and identify the wider network of beneficiaries, account handlers and other individuals allegedly involved in the syndicates.
The agency is also examining the technological infrastructure used by the fraudsters and attempting to identify the remaining accused.
Operation Chakra-VI Targets Organised Cybercrime Networks
Friday’s nationwide action forms part of Operation Chakra-VI, the CBI’s continuing campaign against organised cyber-enabled financial crime.
The scale of the operation — involving searches at 89 locations spread across 20 States — reflects investigators’ assessment that digital arrest fraud is not confined to isolated callers or individual bank accounts but can involve interconnected networks responsible for collecting, layering and moving money across multiple jurisdictions.
The Supreme Court has also taken note of the growing menace of digital arrest scams and has called for concerted action against perpetrators as well as the networks facilitating such crimes. The focus includes investigation, prevention, improved grievance redressal and efforts to restore defrauded money to victims.
The CBI said further investigation in the three cases is continuing, with efforts under way to trace the remaining proceeds of crime and identify and apprehend other members of the alleged syndicates.
