Bengaluru Rs 15 crore digital arrest: Unidentified cyber cheats allegedly played clever on a businessman from Bengaluru and duped him of as much as Rs 15.45 crore, while impersonating officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). As per police, the victim was kept under ‘digital arrest’ for several weeks, during which the cyber scam was executed. 

Victim a resident of Belagavi

According to police, the victim named Ajit Gopalakrishna Saraf is a resident of the Belagavi town of Karnataka. He told the police he received a call from a man identifying himself as K Subramanyam, the director of CBI. He alleged that two SIM cards registered in Saraf’s name were linked to Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways. 

The crook further claimed that Goyal had been arrested, and investigations blew the lid off Saraf’s alleged involvement in laundering Rs 25 lakh through his Canara Bank account, for which he had supposedly received a commission. 

Saraf placed under digital arrest after threats

Further, the crook threatened Saraf with arrests and legal action, creating a milieu of urgency, panic and fear. Saraf eventually gave in, following which he was placed under a so-called ‘Digital arrest.’ Fearing dire consequences, Saraf complied with the crook’s demands and began transferring money to his bank accounts.

As claimed by Saraf, between February 7 and March 9, 2026, he transferred a hefty sum of money (Rs 15.45 crore) by means of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions to the bank accounts specified by the perpetrator. Later, when Saraf realised that he had been duped, he approached the Cyber cell and lodged a complaint.

Bengaluru Rs 15 crore digital arrest: Cops identify 10 bank accounts so far

The cyber-crime sleuths registered a case and plunged into action. Since the onset of the probe, they said they have identified at least 10 primary beneficiary bank accounts linked to the fraud, which span multiple states including Delhi, Punjab, Hyderabad, Haryana, West Bengal and Gujarat. They added that the findings point towards a well-organised inter-state cybercrime syndicate. 

Police officials said they are persevering in efforts to freeze the identified accounts, track down the ones involved and recover the siphoned funds. Notably, the scam has gripped India for two years now, and authorities have repeatedly been urging people to remain vigilant, as well as verify the identity of callers claiming to represent law enforcement agencies. They reiterated that no legitimate agency demands money to resolve criminal allegations.

Also read: Digital arrest in Gujarat: Retired woman duped of Rs 78L in 10-day cyber scam ordeal