Lucknow, March 26 -- In what police describe as one of the longest "digital arrest" scams reported in the city, a 71-year-old retired junior engineer of the electricity department was duped of Rs.1.17 crore over 73 days by cyber fraudsters posing as central agency officials.

The victim, Virendra Singh, a resident of Kalyanpur's Awadh Enclave, said in the FIR lodged on March 23 that he received a call on December 15 from a man claiming to be a TRAI official.

The caller alleged that Singh was named in 17 money laundering complaints registered with the CBI and warned of imminent legal action.

He was then asked to contact numbers purportedly linked to a police station in Delhi's Barakhamba area.

"When I complied, the fraudsters escalated ...