New Delhi: The CBI has registered two separate cases of digital arrest cyber fraud involving victims from Gujarat, a retired professor from Ahmedabad and a retired gynaecologist from Gandhinagar, who were cheated of a total of about Rs 30.66 crore. The cases were taken over by the CBI following directions from the Supreme Court in view of the growing number of serious cyber fraud incidents across the country.

According to officials, cyber fraudsters posed as officers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the CBI, the Supreme Court, and other law enforcement agencies, and threatened the victims with arrest in terror-funding and money-laundering cases to extort money while keeping them under so-called “digital arrest”.

In the first case, a 73-year-old retired professor of St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, living in the Ellisbridge area, started receiving calls in June 2025 from a woman claiming to be a TRAI official. She was told that her Aadhaar-linked SIM card had been used to send obscene messages and videos and that a criminal case had been registered against her in Mumbai.

The fraudsters allegedly claimed that huge transactions linked to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal had been routed through her bank account and that she could be arrested under terror-related charges. The call was then transferred to persons posing as police and investigation officers, after which the victim was kept under digital custody for 82 days, while her husband was also threatened for about a month.

During this period, the accused forced the couple to reveal bank, property, and investment details and made them transfer money in multiple instalments on the pretext of verification. The victims even sold gold, withdrew mutual funds, and transferred savings to different bank accounts given by the fraudsters. In total, Rs 11.42 crore was transferred by the couple, according to the FIR. The case was initially registered by the state cyber crime cell in September last year and later transferred to the CBI.

In the second incident, a 75-year-old retired gynaecologist from Gandhinagar was kept under digital arrest for about four months between March and July 2025. The fraudsters, posing as officers from the ED, police, and court authorities, claimed that her mobile number was linked to illegal activities and threatened action under FEMA and PMLA provisions.

They told her that she was under surveillance by plain-clothes officers and warned her not to inform anyone, including her family members living abroad. Under fear of arrest, the victim transferred money from bank accounts, broke fixed deposits, sold shares, and even disposed of gold and diamond jewellery kept in lockers.

Over a period of about three months, the accused allegedly siphoned off Rs 19.24 crore in several transactions, promising that the money would be returned after completion of the investigation.

Both cases were earlier being probed by the Gujarat CID cyber crime unit. Following Supreme Court directions, the investigation was handed over to the CBI, which has now registered fresh FIRs against around 44 unidentified persons and started a detailed probe.

Officials said incidents of so-called digital arrest fraud have increased in Gujarat in recent months, creating fear, particularly among senior citizens. DeshGujarat