Kerala man held by Goa police for extorting Rs 1.05 cr using 'digital arrest' modus operandi

Panaji: A man from Kerala has been arrested for allegedly duping a South Goa resident of Rs 1.05 crore by placing him under "digital arrest", a police official said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Gokul Prakash MK, posed as a law enforcement official and threatened the victim, who lives in Quepem, claiming he was a suspect in a money laundering case, he said.

"The victim was shown a fake arrest warrant and forced to transfer Rs 1.05 crore through multiple bank transactions. Prakash allegedly received Rs 24 lakh of the defrauded money in his ICICI Bank account, which has been linked to 13 criminal cases across 10 states involving a total of over Rs 9.02 crore," Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Rahul Gupta said in a statement.

A case was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act at the Cyber Crime Police Station on July 9, the SP said.

"A police team led by PSI Manish Dabale traced the suspect to Kannur in Kerala and arrested him on August 7. The accused has been remanded in police custody and further investigation is underway under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar," Gupta said.