The Calcutta High Court has transferred a digital arrest fraud case involving a 70-year-old woman who allegedly lost Rs 2.7 crore to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The court directed Narendrapur Police Station to submit the case diary and all related documents to the CBI’s Economic Offences Branch within 10 days.
Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya passed the order on Wednesday, taking note of a Supreme Court directive issued on December 1, 2025, which designated the CBI as the primary agency for investigating digital arrest scams.
The Supreme Court had also called upon state governments and Union Territories to grant the necessary consent under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, to enable the agency to investigate identified cases.
According to the case details, the victim, a retired government employee, was targeted in August 2024. On August 28, she received a call from a person posing as a courier company representative. She subsequently received a video call from another individual claiming to be associated with the Mumbai Cyber Crime Department.
The fraudsters allegedly told her that her Aadhaar details had been used in illegal activities. They threatened her with legal consequences and instructed her not to discuss the matter with her husband or son.
The woman was kept under digital surveillance for three days, during which she was allegedly defrauded of Rs 2.7 crore.
Investigators attempted to freeze the accounts linked to the fraud, but a substantial portion of the money had already been withdrawn. The victim later approached the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) in Baruipur, whose investigation helped trace the accounts to Rajasthan.
The transfer places the case under the CBI’s investigation as authorities continue to tackle digital arrest fraud, in which criminals impersonate law enforcement officials to intimidate victims and extort money.
