Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 25 (HBTV): The District Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (D4C) in Kothagudem district of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau foiled an attempted digital arrest extortion and rescued an elderly family from three days of harassment by cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officers, according to police.
The victims were identified as Buddharaju Subbaraju, aged 80, a medical practitioner who ran Neela Nursing Home in Bhadrachalam, his daughter-in-law, and his minor granddaughter.
On November 20, Dr Subbaraju received WhatsApp video calls from individuals impersonating CBI officials. The callers falsely claimed that a bank account opened with his Aadhaar in Mumbai was linked to more than 100 criminal cases under investigation.
According to the police, the fraudsters attempted to intimidate the family by instructing them not to inform anyone, claiming they were ‘under CBI surveillance’. They forced the family to remain on hourly video-call contact and collected complete bank information, including account details and fixed deposit amounts. They also coerced Dr Subbaraju to prematurely break his fixed deposit and prepare to transfer funds.
When the family stopped responding and failed to attend the hospital, their assistant became suspicious. After repeated questioning, the victims disclosed the coercion they were facing. The assistant informed Deputy SP Ashok Babu of the D4C Kothagudem over the phone on November 23. Deputy SP Ashok Babu and Inspector Jitender immediately reached Dr Subbaraju’s residence and cut off communication with the fraudsters.
Police said that their prompt intervention prevented significant financial loss and ended the family’s psychological distress.
The Cyber Crime Police have launched a technical investigation. Tracing of IP addresses, analysis of call-routing paths, examination of device identifiers, and coordination with service providers and national cybercrime platforms are underway to identify the perpetrators and disrupt the network involved.
Further investigation is in progress.
(ANI)