82-yr-old duped of Rs 73L in fake ‘terror link’ case

Kalyan: An 82-year-old retired BMC official from Kalyan was duped of ₹73.3 lakh by a gang of five cyber fraudsters who allegedly threatened her with links to a terrorist involved in the 2025 Pahalgam attack, in a chilling case of a ‘digital arrest' scam, police said.The incident came to light after the victim approached the Mahatma Phule Chowk police, who registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. The fraud took place between April 6 and April 10.According to police, the accused contacted the elderly woman posing as officials from agencies like ATS and CBI. They falsely claimed that her mobile number was linked to a Pakistani terrorist involved in the Pahalgam attack and that suspicious benami transactions had been carried out using her identity. They warned her of serious legal consequences and arrest, thereby creating panic.Despite living with her daughter and grandchildren at home, the victim was manipulated into secrecy. The accused allegedly instructed her to behave normally and not disclose anything to family members, warning that doing so would jeopardise the "investigation" and they would not be able to help her.Using fake identities such as "Vijay Khanna", the fraudsters kept her under constant pressure through repeated calls over five days. Claiming that her bank accounts were under scrutiny, they coerced her into "cooperating" by transferring funds for verification.Under this pretext, the accused shared multiple bank account details via WhatsApp and made her transfer money in phases. Over five days, she transferred ₹73.3 lakh through RTGS and online transactions, effectively draining her accounts.The fraud came to light only after she informed her family members after transferring money for three days. They immediately alerted her it's cyber fraud, following which she approached the police.Senior police inspector Baliramsingh Pardeshi told TOI, that if the victim had reported the matter earlier, more funds could have been saved. "She approached us after transferring money over three days. If she had come earlier, we could have blocked a larger amount. Nevertheless, we managed to freeze ₹11.5 lakh from the last transaction with the help of the Thane cyber team," he said.Police are now tracing the accused through digital evidence and have urged citizens, especially senior citizens, to remain cautious against such scams and not act under pressure or threats from unknown callers.