Noida: 5 days in digital arrest, man, 73, loses Rs 1 cr; callers link him to Naresh Goyal’s money laundering case

Noida Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Preeti Yadav said Paliwal, a retired security official, arrived astatine the constabulary presumption astir 3 p.m. to get an FIR registered.

“He told america that a radical of chartless fraudsters had forced him to transportation Rs 1.1 crore from his relationship to theirs,’’ she said.

The constabulary went connected to registry a lawsuit of extortion and cheating nether Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.

In his complaint, Paliwal said that astir 10 minutes aft helium received the archetypal telephone astatine astir 2.50 p.m. connected February 1, a “senior constabulary officer” called him.

“He said helium was an IPS officer… with the Greater Mumbai Police. He claimed that determination were 24 cases against me, including a lawsuit of wealth laundering. He claimed to beryllium the investigating serviceman successful the case,’’ helium added.

The accused “informed” Paliwal that a slope relationship had been opened successful his sanction to launder money.

“He said a fewer complainants had received a telephone from a fig issued against my Aadhaar Card and that they had been tricked into depositing wealth into the account. He said a warrant had been issued successful my name, and that I would beryllium arrested and presented earlier the Mumbai Cyber Crime cell,” Paliwal told the police.

Next, the constabulary said, Paliwal was asked to amusement his Aadhaar Card “for verification” implicit a WhatsApp video call. “I was trembling arsenic I sent them a photograph of my Aadhaar Card. They besides asked maine for details of my idiosyncratic slope accounts, which I sent,” the ailment said.

“They said that an archetypal probe study had been sent to the CBI and that elder CBI officers would present analyse the case. Another imposter joined the ongoing video telephone to accidental that it would beryllium intolerable for a antheral my property to enactment successful jail… One of the imposters past confirmed that (Paliwal’s) Aadhaar Card had been utilized to launder wealth and that the lawsuit would present spell to the CBI court,” it added.

A bid of video calls from assorted numbers continued implicit the adjacent fewer days, constabulary said, quoting Paliwal.

“Next, the imposters posed arsenic CBI officers and told maine that my lawsuit would beryllium heard successful a CBI tribunal connected February 3. They asked maine for my woman and daughter’s interaction details. They besides warned maine against answering immoderate different telephone and sharing accusation astir their calls with others since my lawsuit was linked to Naresh Goyal’s,” Paliwal said successful his complaint.

The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Jet Airways

founder Naresh Goyal connected September 1, 2023, connected charges of wealth laundering.

On February 2, 2024, the constabulary said, the fraudsters warned Paliwal that his household would beryllium arrested and enactment successful antithetic jails successful Mumbai. “…They (wife and daughter) excessively were threatened successful a akin way. Some different accused posed arsenic Noida Police serviceman and said that they were nether surveillance,” Paliwal told the police.

In the video telephone received by Paliwal, his woman and girl connected February 3, the accused utilized the backdrop of “a court”.

“A antheral posing arsenic a CBI justice asked maine to crook the telephone camera towards me. He told maine that I was Goyal’s subordinate and that my bail plea had been rejected. The accused adjacent sent maine my bail rejection orders,” said Paliwal successful the complaint.

Next, the victims were asked to sojourn their slope and retreat each the wealth from their accounts to “avoid arrest”.

“On February 4, my woman and I transferred the wealth to the imposters via RTGS from the bank. They were connected a video telephone with america the full time. The adjacent day, they asked for much money. That is erstwhile the subdivision manager told america to question help,” the ailment said.

Inspector Vinod Yadav, who is investigating the case, said, “The mates has lone 1 girl who lives with them.’’

“It is simply a tragic incident… The fraudsters look to person done due probe earlier targeting this family, arsenic they typically chose aged radical with constricted societal contact,” helium added.