Nagpur: In a major cybercrime breakthrough, Nagpur Cyber Police arrested a 60-year-old man from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, for allegedly defrauding a city resident of ₹23.71 lakh by falsely implicating him in a fabricated money laundering case and threatening him with “digital arrest.”
According to police, the complainant approached the Cyber Police Station in Nagpur on July 15, 2025, stating that between 11:00 AM on July 2 and 9:00 PM on July 3, he received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from the Telecom Department headquarters in Delhi and Colaba Police Station, Mumbai. The caller falsely informed him that he was named in a money laundering investigation and would be digitally arrested.
To lend credibility to the threat, the accused sent forged documents bearing logos and seals of the Mumbai Police, Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court Bar Association, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Fearing arrest, the complainant was coerced into transferring ₹23,71,000 into a Bank of Maharashtra account (A/C No. 60538001303).
Following the complaint, a case was registered under BNS Sections 318(2), 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(1), 340(2), 204, 3(5) and Sections 66(C), 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
During investigation, the cyber team traced the fraudulent account to the Bank of Maharashtra, Puri branch, Odisha. The account holder was identified as Ranjankumar Vishnucharan Patnaik, a 60-year-old resident of Bhatpada, Debidol, Naugaon, Jagatsinghpur, Odisha. Initial attempts to locate the accused at his registered address were unsuccessful, and the mobile number linked to the account was found switched off.
However, through technical surveillance, the cyber team tracked him to Bhubaneswar. On August 5, 2025, a special team arrested Patnaik from Bhubaneswar. He was produced before a local court, which remanded him to police custody till August 11 for further interrogation.
Authorities confirmed that ₹19,90,392.98 from the accused’s bank account has been frozen and, as per court orders, will be refunded to the complainant.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of Commissioner of Police Ravindra Singhal, Joint CP Naveenchand Reddy, Additional CP (Crime), and DCP (Cyber) Lohit Matani. The case was cracked by the cyber cell team comprising Senior PI Baliram Sutar, API Shankar Pandhare, constable Vinod Tondfode, and Rinkesh Thakur.
