Jaipur ex-district judge held under 15-day ‘digital arrest’, loses Rs 2.5 crore

A 90-year-old former district judge in Jaipur was duped of Rs 2.5 crore by fraudsters posing as CBI officials and an RBI manager, and kept under a digital arrest for approximately 15 days, according to police. The incident was uncovered when an SBI manager refused to transfer additional funds from Ganpat Singh Bhandari's Public Provident Fund (PPF) account.

A case was subsequently filed at Jaipur's Jyoti Nagar police station based on a complaint from Bhandari's nephew. According to the police report, the fraudsters contacted Bhandari on July 28 via a WhatsApp video call, claiming to be from the CBI and posing as Mumbai police. They falsely alleged a Rs 50 crore hawala transaction, threatening arrest and demanding details of his financial investments.

Following this, another caller claiming to be from the RBI demanded additional information. Bhandari complied and transferred Rs 2.5 crore from his SBI account in Gandhi Nagar between August 3 and 10, under the pretext of aiding the investigation. The fraudsters subsequently requested Bhandari to withdraw funds from his PPF account as well.

When Bhandari attempted to transfer money from his PPF account at an SBI branch on Wednesday, the manager became suspicious and halted the transaction, recognizing signs of cyber fraud. Bhandari subsequently informed his nephew, who lodged the complaint with the police. The police have registered a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, and are conducting further investigations.