Operation Mahadev used to scare ‘digital arrest' victims
Such fraudsters earlier posed as Mumbai police officers, fabricating tales of drug or money laundering cases to intimidate victims. Now, they invoke Operation Mahadev — the security forces' mission to eliminate terrorists linked to the April Pahalgam attack — to lend a ring of authenticity to their threats.
In one such case, 22-year-old Rajula resident Jay Katariya lodged a complaint stating that his sister Chetna, an MBBS student in Jaipur, was targeted.
On Aug 2, while visiting Rajula, she received a call from a man claiming to be a Pahalgam police inspector.
He alleged that her phone number was found on a terrorist's mobile phone during Operation Mahadev and accused her of being linked to terrorists.
When she denied the allegations, the caller sent her photographs of 21 supposed terrorists and 17 forged "arrest and seizure" documents on WhatsApp. She was told to get a clearance certificate from the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) and was connected by video call to another man in a police uniform.
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The so-called "senior officer" told her that the statement was required for court, accused her of possessing black money linked to terrorism, and instructed her to transfer funds to prove her innocence. She complied, but the scammers vanished when she asked for her money back.
Realizing she had been duped, Chetna told her brother, and the family called the cybercrime helpline. Police have begun an investigation.
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