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Hyderabad: In the first such instance after the recent instructions from DGP Dr. Jitender, Cyberabad police booked two cyber fraudsters under the BNS for extorting `6.6 lakh from a woman through a fake ‘digital arrest’, which led to her death. Shockingly, even after the victim passed away, the accused continued to send messages and make calls demanding more money.The prime accused, Shankar, and his associate, Vishwas Dattatraya Miraje — who provided the bank account used to receive the money — are both from Maharashtra. They are reportedly involved in similar cases in Telangana and Gujarat, said cybe rcrime ACP R.G. Siva Maruthi. Following the woman’s death, her son lodged a complaint with the cyber crime coordination unit (CCCU). The victim, a retired CSRMO from MN Area Hospital, Malakpet, died on September 8 after suffering a cardiac arrest, days after she was harassed through fake police calls. According to DCP (cyber crimes) D. Kavitha, the accused had contacted her from September 5 to 8 through WhatsApp calls, impersonating Bengaluru police officials. They falsely accused her of involvement in a human trafficking case and sent forged documents bearing the names of the Supreme Court, Enforcement Directorate and RBI. Under pressure, she transferred `6,60,543 from her pension account. The accused continued to intimidate her even after the transfer, causing severe psychological distress that eventually led to her fatal cardiac arrest. Manager duped of Rs.25 LHyderabad: An accounts manager at a private firm was cheated of `25 lakh after fraudsters posed as his managing director (MD) on WhatsApp and tricked him into transferring company funds.According to a complaint filed with the cyber crime coordination unit (CCCU) on Saturday, the victim, who was on vacation in Sri Lanka, received a WhatsApp message on September 24 from an unknown number claiming to be his company’s MD using a new contact. Believing it to be genuine, the victim responded and shared a screenshot of the firm’s `28-lakh account balance when asked, said ACP R.G. Siva Maruthi. The impostor then instructed him to urgently transfer `25 lakh through NEFT for a supposed project. After the transfer, the fraudster demanded another `40 lakh. The victim’s general manager later contacted the real MD and confirmed the messages were fake. The victim immediately reported the fraud to Cyber Crime (helpline 1930). Police have initiated an investigation to trace the digital trail and identify the culprits. Peddler nabbed with OG ganjaHyderabad: The Hyderabad Narcotic Enforcement Wing (HNEW), in coordination with Charminar police, arrested a peddler and seized 45 grams of OG hydroponic ganja, two kg of regular ganja and other property worth `4 lakh during a joint operation on Saturday.The accused, identified as Ali Bin Hamid, confessed that he procured narcotic drugs from one ‘Captain’ alias Farhan, who is currently absconding. He received the drugs through “dead drops”, processed them into smaller packets, and supplied them to consumers, said DCP Y.V.S. Sudheendra of HNEW. Police said Hamid used to hand over the proceeds to Farhan’s associates, Maaz and Moiz, also absconding, at a garment shop in Gulzar Houz. Efforts are on to trace the suppliers and uncover the wider network. Rs.37-L pledged gold missing from bankHyderabad: A city resident, M. Sridevi, has lodged a complaint with the Borabanda police alleging that a bank staff member misappropriated gold ornaments worth `37 lakh that she had pledged for a loan.According to the complaint, Sridevi pledged 44 gold ornaments in the bank’s gold loan section on December 4 last year and handed them over to a staff member, Aripaka Satish Kumar, to secure a `37-lakh loan. She signed the required documents but could not collect the acknowledgement receipt as she was in a hurry to leave the station, police said. Sridevi later realised discrepancies when, during a recent KYC verification, she found that only 41 ornaments were recorded in her account, with three items weighing 75.80 grams missing. She informed the branch manager, Asmath, who allegedly admitted that Satish Kumar had misappropriated pledged ornaments not only from her account but also from those of more than 13 other customers. Borabanda police registered a case on Friday and launched an investigation. Police said Sridevi had provided photographs taken by Satish Kumar of the pledged ornaments as evidence.
