Lucknow, July 18: In a landmark ruling, a Lucknow court has sentenced a cyber fraudster to seven years in jail for extorting INR 85 lakh from a woman doctor by posing as a CBI officer and keeping her under “digital arrest” for over 10 days. This is the first conviction of its kind in Uttar Pradesh involving a digital arrest scam, officials confirmed.

The verdict was delivered by the Court of Special CJM (Customs), Alok Kumar, which found the accused, Debashish Rai, guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code related to cheating and forgery, along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. The court handed out separate sentences for each offence, with the longest term being seven years, and imposed a total fine of INR 68,000. Who Is Digital Arrest Scam Mastermind Chirag Kapoor Aka Chintak Raj, Arrested After Kerala Police Solved 930 Cases?

According to DCP (Crime) Kamlesh Dixit, the case began on May 1 last year when Dr Soumya Gupta received a call from someone posing as a customs officer. She was falsely told that a parcel in her name contained fake documents, ATM cards, and banned drugs. The call was then transferred to another fraudster posing as a CBI officer, who threatened her with arrest and coerced her into staying on video calls for over 10 days—an elaborate ploy known as “digital arrest.” During this period, the accused forced her to transfer INR 85 lakh into his bank accounts. Digital Arrest Scam in Chandigarh: Retired Colonel, His Wife Lose INR 3.4 Crore After Cyber Fraudsters Place Them Under ‘Digital Arrest’; Probe Underway (Watch Video).

Police traced Rai using technical surveillance and arrested him within four days. He had used forged documents to open bank accounts and obtain SIM cards under fake identities.

DCP Dixit warned citizens to be alert, hang up on such calls, and report any threats to official cybercrime helplines.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 18, 2025 06:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).