Police search for popular social media influencer linked to Rs 10.7 crore digital arrest scam

Pune: The Pune cyber police are on the lookout for a well-known "reel star" active on a video-sharing platform for an alleged role in a digital arrest scam that duped an elderly man of Rs 10.7 crore. The police had earlier arrested two Karvenagar residents — 23-year-old BTech student Harshad Subhas Dhantole and 24-year-old unemployed youth Samarth Suresh Deshmukh — in the case.The social media influencer's girlfriend, who lives in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, has also been questioned in connection with the case.
Police teams carried out searches for the influencer in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pimpri Chinchwad, but he has so far evaded arrest.The case pertains to a digital arrest fraud reported earlier this year, in which an 82-year-old resident of Bhandarkar Road was allegedly cheated by fraudsters posing as officials from TRAI, the CBI and the judiciary. The victim lost Rs 10.7 crore, including retirement savings and fixed deposits accumulated over his lifetime.According to the police, the accused falsely implicated the elderly man in a fabricated money laundering case and claimed there were illegal transactions linked to his bank accounts. "Impersonating govt officials, they placed him under a so-called digital arrest. To make the deception convincing, they even staged a virtual courtroom and arranged supposed legal assistance. The victim was ultimately persuaded to transfer Rs 10.7 crore to multiple bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters," a police officer said.Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde said, "After Dhantole and Deshmukh were arrested on Feb 22, police uncovered the involvement of the popular reel creator, whose videos have a strong following in Marathwada and north Maharashtra."Shinde said, "Our probe into the financial trail revealed that a substantial amount of the defrauded money was credited to the reel star's bank account."She further stated that the influencer was allegedly in contact with one of the prime accused and acted on his instructions to arrange mule bank accounts locally to facilitate the scam."While probing his role, we found that some funds had been transferred to the bank account of a woman closely associated with him. She was traced and identified as his girlfriend. We reviewed her videos and circulated screenshots during the inquiry. However, we noted that her real-life appearance differed significantly from how she appeared in her online content, which mainly features short entertainment and comedy clips," Shinde added.After questioning her, the police issued a notice directing her to cooperate with the investigation."We also found that she uses several online filters to alter her appearance in videos to generate more likes and views," Shinde said.China angle in the caseShinde said further investigation into the money trail revealed international links. Some suspects were allegedly in contact with handlers based in China and Hong Kong."A portion of the stolen funds was converted into cryptocurrency and transferred overseas," she added.Police have identified two additional individuals connected to the case, including one who was directly linked to the main fraudsters. "Forensic analysis of seized mobile phones indicated that the money was routed through a cryptocurrency exchange before being transferred to crypto platforms based in China," Shinde said.She added that one of the absconding suspects had been in touch with handlers operating from China.