Guwahati Duo Arrested in Rs 7 Crore Scam Targeting Industrialist SP Oswal

GUWAHATI: A group of fraudsters pretending to be CBI officers managed to scam Padma Bhushan awardee and textile industrialist SP Oswal out of Rs 7 crore.

It's the sophisticated scheme, involving a fake online Supreme Court hearing, arrest warrants, and two-day "digital surveillance".

The racket surfaced on August 31 when Oswal lodged a complaint with Ludhiana police. On the basis of evidences, police arrested two members of the inter-state gang from Guwahati in Assam. Remaining seven perpetrators are being traced across Assam and West Bengal and Delhi.

Using sophisticated digital modes, the fraudsters informed an industrialist SP Oswal that Enforcement Directorate was investigating him. Threatened with dummies of arrest warrant and convinced that an order of the Supreme Court required it, he was asked to transfer Rs 7 crore to a "Secret Supervision Account".

This was taken to such an extent that they even organized an online hearing of the Supreme Court, where someone was posing to be the Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud. They later WhatsApped Oswal, with the forged order of the court.

Though the cheats managed to withdraw a considerable amount, Rs 5.25 crore was recovered by the authorities, which they returned to Oswal's bank accounts. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has confirmed that this is the biggest recovery in India of such cybercrimes.

It reflects the sophistication of attacks that transpire in contemporary times when even famous personalities are snooped upon. It also brings to the forefront the urgent need to heighten alertness and strengthen cybersecurity measures against such frauds.

Earlier, two more accused were arrested in the case related to Ashim Kumar Das and his gang. The crime branch apprehended Manmath Das, a personal assistant of a minister and a peon, Prafulla Deka.

Both the accused were allegedly assisting Ashim Das by giving him passes to enter the Janata Bhawan in Dispur. They were reported to charge Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000 for each pass.

The two arrested accused, according to reports, had employed the minister's seal on the entry passes and had given full information Ashim's gang.

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