Motihari/Patna: In a shocking case of cybercrime, a retired Agriculture Department employee and his wife from Motihari, Bihar, were digitally held “under arrest” for 10 days and defrauded of Rs 56.80 lakh by a gang posing as central investigative officials.
Following weeks of investigation, police arrested Akash Mukherjee, a 21-time accused in cyber fraud cases spanning eight Indian states. Mukherjee, a resident of Teja Tola, Ward 4, under Katihar’s Assistant Police Station limits, was apprehended on Thursday by a team from Bihar’s Cyber Police Station, led by DSP Abhinav Parashar, under the directive of SP Swarn Prabhat.
The fraud dates back to January 10, when Dilip Kumar, a retired government employee residing in Balua Tal Manspuri Mohalla, and his wife Geeta Agarwal, received a suspicious call. The scammers falsely claimed that the couple’s PAN card had been used in a high-profile money laundering case involving Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. They threatened legal action and physical harm, hacking Kumar’s phone via video call and coercing him into a state of virtual house arrest for 10 days.
During this time, the victims were told to transfer funds repeatedly through RTGS to various accounts under the pretext of legal compliance. The couple also reported that two individuals—sometimes dressed in plainclothes, other times in police uniform—were stationed outside their home to reinforce the deception.
“Mr Kumar was kept in digital captivity, threatened with arrest and even death if he stepped outside,” said DSP Parashar. “The scam was executed with shocking coordination, using impersonation of officials from law enforcement and the judiciary.”
Police traced Rs 2 lakh of the siphoned funds to a Bandhan Bank account belonging to Akash Mukherjee. His arrest marks the first case of ‘digital arrest’ bust in East Champaran district, according to officials.
Investigators believe Mukherjee is part of a well-organised interstate cybercrime syndicate, with members including engineers and other professionals. Two of the gang’s alleged masterminds are reportedly based in Karnataka, where Mukherjee was recently granted bail in a separate cyber fraud case.
The accused owns a hardware shop in Katihar, which police believe may have been used to cover his digital operations. His arrest has been communicated to police departments in other states including Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, and Telangana, where further remand proceedings are expected.
Police are also tracking the digital footprint and bank transactions of other gang members and verifying the involvement of those who monitored the victims in person. Raids are ongoing.
