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A West Bengal court sentenced nine people to life imprisonment on Friday (July 18, 2025) for their involvement in a digital arrest scam. This is among the first such convictions in India and the first in West Bengal.
The 70-year-old victim lost ₹1 crore and was digitally arrested for almost seven days. On November 6, 2024, the victim lodged a complaint at Kalyani, Ranaghat Police Station. The Ranaghat Cyber Crime Police Station formed a special investigation team and conducted an investigation. According to the victim, he was asked to deposit money into various accounts by a WhatsApp caller who identified themself as SI Hemraj Koli of Andheri PS, Mumbai.
“A total of 108 NCRP complaints were registered against this gang. Over 100 crores has been stolen by such gangs in this manner, including ₹1 crore in this particular case,” a high-ranking official of West Bengal Police said.
In this case, 13 people were arrested during raids conducted by the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Cyber Crime cell. Three are from Gujarat, seven from Maharashtra, and three from Haryana; nine of them were convicted.
Calls rerouted through Cambodia
It was found that the calls were made from Cambodia, and money was siphoned through multiple accounts whose owners were spread across the country. But later the police realised that the calls were being rerouted through Cambodia, but the origin was in India.
Multiple bank passbooks, ATM cards, SIM cards, and mobile phones were seized. Police filed a 2,600-page chargesheet against the nine accused. The chargesheet was submitted to the Kalyani District Court, and the trial was completed in five months.
Officials confirmed that the Kalyani District Court sentenced the nine convicts to life imprisonment on Friday.
All the 9 accused have been convicted under sections 316(2)/317(4)/318(4)/319(2)/ 336(3)/338/340(2)/351(2)/3(5)/61(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act.
According to a statement shared by the Ranaghat District Police on their official social media handle on X, the same gang had targeted another senior citizen from West Bengal’s Bhadreswar area. That person lost his entire savings of ₹41 lakhs during the digital arrest while his wife was battling cancer.
Published – July 18, 2025 10:25 pm IST