2 weeks ago
Jaipur ex-judge loses Rs 2.5 crore in 'digital arrest' scam
A very old retired judge named Ganpat Singh Bhandari was tricked by bad people on the internet.
They called him on WhatsApp and pretended to be a police officer from the CBI and a manager from the RBI.
They told him that a huge illegal money transfer had been found and that some of the money had gone into his bank account.
They said he would be arrested and warned him not to tell his family.
They kept him scared under something they called a 'digital arrest' for about 15 days.
Because he was frightened, he sent them about 2.5 crore rupees.
They also made him delete his messages so nobody would find out.
When he later tried to move money from another account, a bank manager got suspicious and stopped it.
The retired judge then told his nephew, and together they went to the police.
The police have now registered a case and are investigating.
Ganpat Singh Bhandari, a 90-year-old former district judge from Jaipur, was allegedly duped of Rs 2.5 crore by cyber fraudsters.
Fraudsters posing as a CBI officer from Mumbai and an RBI manager kept him under 'digital arrest' for around 15 days.
The scam began with a WhatsApp video call on July 28, when a caller claimed a Rs 50 crore hawala transaction was detected and Rs 40 lakh was credited to Bhandari's SBI account.
Bhandari transferred Rs 2,50,51,000 from his SBI Gandhi Nagar account between August 3 and 10 after being threatened with arrest.
An SBI Johari Bazaar manager stopped a planned PPF transfer, and a case was registered at Jaipur's Jyoti Nagar police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
- Who
- Ganpat Singh Bhandari, a 90-year-old former district judge from Jaipur, and alleged cyber fraudsters posing as a CBI officer and an RBI manager.
- What
- Bhandari was allegedly defrauded of around Rs 2.5 crore through a 15-day 'digital arrest' cyber scam.
- Where
- Jaipur, India; the case was registered at Jyoti Nagar police station.
- When
- The WhatsApp video call came on July 28; transfers happened between August 3 and 10; a case was registered on Wednesday evening (report dated August 13).
- Why
- Fraudsters fabricated a Rs 50 crore hawala transaction and threatened Bhandari with arrest to pressure him into transferring funds.
Key facts
- Victim
- Ganpat Singh Bhandari, 90-year-old former district judge
- Amount lost
- Rs 2,50,51,000 (about Rs 2.5 crore)
- 'Digital arrest' duration
- Around 15 days
- First contact
- WhatsApp video call on July 28 from an unidentified number
- Transfer period
- August 3-10 from SBI Gandhi Nagar account
- Impersonated officials
- CBI officer from Mumbai and an RBI manager
- Case registered at
- Jyoti Nagar police station, Jaipur
- Complaint lodged by
- Nephew Ravindra Singh Mohnot
Quotes
CBI Officer (fraudster)
Fraudster impersonating a CBI officer
“"a Rs 50 crore hawala transaction had been detected"”
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