SURAT: Surat cybercrime police arrested a wanted cyber fraudster at Delhi airport just before he could flee to Russia, in a major breakthrough in a Rs 1.71 crore ‘digital arrest’ scam that targeted a senior citizen in Dec 2024.The accused, Shankar Chaudhary (37), was on the run for nearly a year and was wanted for supplying mule bank accounts used to siphon off the cheated amount. He is the sixth accused to be arrested in the case.Police said Chaudhary had been evading arrest since his role surfaced during the investigation. Recently, he began enquiring about relocating to Russia and managed to obtain a visa through an agent. Unaware that a lookout circular (LOC) had been issued against him, Chaudhary attempted to leave the country from Delhi, where he was intercepted and arrested by the Surat cybercrime team.Investigators revealed that Chaudhary had earlier travelled to Dubai with co-accused Rameshwar Suthar, where he came in contact with a cybercrime syndicate. After returning to India, he allegedly began arranging mule accounts for the syndicate in exchange for commission.In the Dec 2024 case, fraudsters contacted a senior citizen and falsely claimed that a SIM card and bank account used in a money-laundering case were linked to his Aadhaar. The victim was threatened with dire consequences and placed under so-called ‘digital arrest’. Fake letters purportedly issued by the CBI and RBI were sent to him, forcing him to transfer Rs 1.71 crore.Before Chaudhary’s arrest, police had nabbed five other accused — Mukesh Patel, Mehul Patel, Dungarsinh Rajput, Kesarsinh Devda and Rameshwar Suthar.Chaudhary was produced before a court and remanded to three days of police custody for further investigation.
