India, April 12 -- A 69-year-old chief priest of a temple in Malad has been cheated of nearly Rs.50 lakh in a digital arrest scam, with cyber fraudsters posing as law enforcement officials and falsely linking him to the Pahalgam terror attack.

According to the police, the case came to light after a 75-year-old disciple lodged a complaint with the Cyber Police. The priest was scheduled to travel to Vrindavan for a religious programme, including bhajans and kirtans, between April 3 and 7.

"On April 1, he reportedly received a WhatsApp video call from a woman claiming to be a police officer investigating the terror attack. She told him that bank accounts in his name had been used to fund the incident and placed him under so-called digital ...