Archive · 6 Aug 2026
Charge sheet filed in Rs 1.6 crore digital arrest scam
The CBI is a special police agency in India that investigates big crimes.
It has been working on a trick called a 'digital arrest' scam.
In this scam, bad people pretended to be police officers and judges during video calls.
They told an elderly woman in Delhi that she was being investigated and scared her into giving them a very large amount of money — Rs 1.6 crore.
The CBI arrested two people who are accused of helping the scammers: a company owner from Kashmir and a bank deputy manager.
The bank manager was allegedly given part of the stolen money to help move the funds around.
The CBI says the scammers belong to a big criminal group based in South-East Asia.
The CBI has filed formal charges against the two accused in court.
The CBI says there is no such thing as a 'digital arrest' — nobody can arrest you over a video call.
If someone tries this, you should not panic or give them money, and you should report it on the national cybercrime portal.
The CBI filed a charge sheet against Umer Iqbal, proprietor of Kashmir-based M/s Himalayan Enterprises, and Axis Bank Deputy Manager Umer Ahmad Dar in a digital arrest scam.
A senior citizen from Delhi was defrauded of Rs 1.6 crore by fraudsters posing as law enforcement and judicial authorities during video calls.
The Supreme Court transferred the case from the Delhi Police to the CBI, which registered it in January 2026.
A portion of the defrauded amount was allegedly paid to the bank deputy manager for facilitating fund siphoning, and the scam was run by a transnational criminal network based in South-East Asia.
Charges were filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act, and the Prevention of Corruption Act; the CBI said no legal concept of 'digital arrest' exists and urged citizens to report suspicious activity via the national cybercrime portal.
- Who
- The CBI filed the charge sheet against Umer Iqbal, proprietor of M/s Himalayan Enterprises, Pulwama, and Umer Ahmad Dar, Deputy Manager at Axis Bank; the victim was a senior citizen from Delhi.
- What
- A charge sheet was filed in connection with a Rs 1.6 crore 'digital arrest' scam in which fraudsters posing as law enforcement and judicial authorities extorted money from the victim during video calls.
- When
- The official CBI statement was released on Wednesday, August 5, 2026; the case was registered by the CBI in January 2026.
- Where
- New Delhi, where the victim was targeted; Pulwama, Kashmir, where the accused firm is based; the scam network operated from South-East Asia.
- Why
- The accused allegedly facilitated the receipt and siphoning of the defrauded funds from the fake 'digital arrest' scheme.
- Investigating Agency
- Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- Fraud Amount
- Rs 1.6 crore
- Accused 1
- Umer Iqbal, proprietor of M/s Himalayan Enterprises, Pulwama
- Accused 2
- Umer Ahmad Dar, Deputy Manager, Axis Bank
- Victim
- Senior citizen from Delhi
- Case Registration
- January 2026
- Laws Involved
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Information Technology Act, Prevention of Corruption Act
- Network Origin
- South-East Asia
