Daijiworld Media Network – Bhopal

Bhopal, Nov 29: A disturbing new wave of cybercrime has emerged in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, with fraudsters impersonating anti-terror investigators and placing senior citizens under so-called ‘digital arrest’. Victims are falsely accused of involvement in terror funding and coerced into paying large sums of money.

In Bhopal, the panic created by these calls has already claimed a life. Sixty-eight-year-old advocate Shiv Kumar Verma died by suicide after reportedly receiving calls accusing him of funding the April 22 Pahalgam attack. His suicide note indicated that he may have been targeted by cybercriminals who threatened him with severe charges linked to terrorism.

According to Jahangirabad police, callers posing as anti-terror officers told Verma that his bank account had been misused for terror funding. Alone and terrified of being branded “anti-national”, he ended his life — marking the first suicide in Bhopal linked to digital arrest fraud.

Officials say at least five to seven similar cases involving the elderly have surfaced in the city over the last ten days. In Kohfiza, another senior advocate escaped the scam after recognising that the callers were fraudsters. But many others have suffered major losses.

A retired bank manager lost Rs 68 lac, his entire life savings, after being detained digitally by scammers who falsely claimed to be probing terror offences. A retired government employee lost around Rs 8 lac, and an elderly housewife has also reported being targeted.

Cyber officials say fraudsters have upgraded their tactics. “Earlier, these callers frightened senior citizens by alleging involvement in money laundering, narcotics or human trafficking. But with increased awareness, they have now shifted to creating fear of terror-related involvement, especially terror funding,” a cyber cell officer said.

Rajasthan too has witnessed similar cases. “In Jaipur and Udaipur, we have seen two to three incidents where fraudsters linked victims to the Delhi blast case,” said Shantanu Singh, SP, State Cybercrime–Jaipur.

In Indore, the targeting appears well-organised. Additional DCP (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said the gangs operate in multiple layers. “One layer includes men and women who scan senior citizens’ social media activity. Once they identify a potential victim, they trap them and place them under digital arrest,” he explained.

Authorities have urged senior citizens and their families to remain alert and immediately report suspicious calls claiming links to anti-terror operations.