Nagpur: Cybercriminals, impersonating IPS officer Vishwas Nangare Patil, defrauded an elderly woman of ₹23 lakh by threatening her with arrest for a crime she did not commit. A case has been registered at the Cyber Police Station.

The victim, Mamata Vilas Banginwar (67), a resident of Priyadarshini Nagar, was targeted on July 15. She received a call from a woman who connected her to a purported senior officer. The caller claimed that Mamata’s phone number was linked to numerous fraud cases and that ₹2 crore had been transacted through the linked account, earning a commission of ₹20 lakh.

The following day, Mamata received a video call from the number 7237864069. The caller, identifying himself as Hemraj Koli and dressed in a police uniform, claimed to be calling from Tilak Nagar Police Station in Mumbai. He showed her a photo of a person named Naresh Goyal, accusing her of being involved in his crimes. The caller presented fake documents on the video call, allegedly from Canara Bank, implicating her.

On July 18, Mamata received another call, this time claiming that IPS officer Vishwas Nangare Patil would speak to her. During this call, the video was turned off, and the caller instructed Koli to arrest Mamata immediately, which frightened her.

The fraudsters gathered information about Mamata’s assets and instructed her to transfer all her money to an account, claiming it would be deposited with the Reserve Bank of India. Over time, Mamata transferred a total of ₹23.20 lakh to the fraudsters’ account.

Realizing she had been deceived, Mamata filed a complaint at the Cyber Police Station. The police have registered a case against the suspects under the Information Technology Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).