Belapur: The central unit of Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has uncovered an international cyber fraud gang that extorted a whopping Rs 1.81 crore from a college professor by posing as income tax officials and threatening her with "digital arrest."

During the operation, police seized laptops, mobile phones, various bank cheque books, debit cards, SIM cards, fake company seals, and documents related to the opening of bank accounts.

The victim, a professor residing in Nerul, was contacted by the cyber gang in January. Posing as income tax officials, the accused claimed that her company owed Rs 8.62 lakh in taxes and that a complaint had been filed with the Delhi police. They further intimidated her by alleging her involvement in the Amit Chaudhary money laundering case and claimed that action would be taken against her by the Delhi Police.

Later, the gang sent fake letterheads of the CBI, ED, and Supreme Court via WhatsApp and threatened her with "digital arrest." They told her that all her assets needed to be verified by the RBI, after which they fraudulently made her transfer Rs 1.81 crore into six different bank accounts. Once she realized she had been duped, the woman filed a complaint with the cyber police.

Recognizing the seriousness of the case, three separate teams were formed under the guidance of senior police inspector Sunil Shinde. Using technical surveillance and tracking bank transactions, the accused were traced. The crime branch then raided the cyber gang’s office in Andheri and arrested Ramesh Sheth, Amish Shah, Rajkumar Narang.