Mumbai Cyber Fraud: Retired BARC Technician Loses ₹24.80 Lakh After Fraudsters Pose As CID, Police Officials
Mumbai: A 61-year-old retired senior technician from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) was allegedly duped of Rs24.80 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials and threatened him with a money-laundering case, police said. Victim Receives Fake CID Call According to the FIR, the complainant, Vinayak Baburao Gaikwad, who retired from BARC on August…
A retired BARC technician, Vinayak Baburao Gaikwad, lost ₹24.80 lakh after cyber fraudsters impersonated Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials, according to police. The victim, who lives in Anushaktinagar BARC Colony, received a fake WhatsApp call from an unknown number posing as CID officer Sandeep Rao on September 10.
Rao allegedly informed Gaikwad about a SIM card issued in his name and a bank account opened at Canara Bank in Nashik, where fraudulent transactions worth Rs2 crore were said to have occurred. After Gaikwad expressed doubt, the fraudsters connected him to another person, Pradeep Jaiswal, who claimed to be from the Mumbai Police.
Over the next few days, the fraudsters kept Gaikwad under constant surveillance via WhatsApp calls, demanding regular updates about his activities and even sending a fabricated Enforcement Directorate notice. The accused demanded ₹24.80 lakh from Gaikwad to settle the fabricated case, instructing him to keep his phone charged and cooperate fully.
On September 16, the fraudsters allegedly connected Gaikwad to a person posing as senior police officer Vishwas Nangare Patil, who further instructed him to transfer money to specified bank accounts. Gaikwad transferred money to two accounts, including one in the name of Gram Construction OPC Private Limited. The following day, the fraudsters claimed Gaikwad was cleared of the allegations and instructed him to await an official order on WhatsApp.
When the order did not arrive, Gaikwad contacted the cybercrime helpline, leading to the registration of a case by the Eastern Region Cyber police.
Written by urgent.news from Free Press Journal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
