Dehradun, Aug. 28 -- The Uttarakhand police's cyber cell arrested two people from Ranchi for their alleged involvement in a Rs.1.02 crore digital fraud case, a police official said. The accused were identified as Ajay Kumar Sinha and his son Saurabh Shekhar, residents of Patna. According to police, the accused duped victims by posing as telecom department officers and threatening to block their mobile numbers on the alleged orders of ED and CBI officers. Victims were then "digitally arrested" and coerced into transferring money. Senior Superintendent of Police (STF) Navneet Singh said the case was registered in March 2025 by a Nainital resident, who was digitally arrested by fraudsters and forced to transfer Rs.1.02 crore within 10 days to multiple accounts. "Our team analysed bank account details, IP addresses, mobile CDRs and WhatsApp data, and identified the accused as Ajay Kumar Sinha and his son Saurabh Shekhar, both residents of Patna, Bihar. They were arrested from Ranchi with the help of Jharkhand Police," he said. "The duo was operating through a Patna-based NGO, Mahila and Gramin Vikas Kalyan Samiti, whose HDFC Bank account received Rs.14.51 lakh from the victim. T he accused had opened several accounts to route fraudulent money, with transactions running into crores within a short span. Seven cyber-crime complaints are registered against the accused in different states, including Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Uttarakhand," the SSP said. On their modus operandi, Singh said the accused posed as telecom and enforcement officials, telling victims that their mobile numbers were linked to crimes such as human trafficking and would be blocked on ED/CBI orders. They tricked victims into believing that courts had allowed online hearings, sent fake guidelines on WhatsApp, and forced them to remain connected hourly during the so-called "digital arrest." The money was then siphoned off into multiple accounts. In 'digital arrests,' scammers often call a potential victim claiming that a parcel they've sent has been intercepted and contains illegal items. Sometimes, they also fabricate stories about a loved one being involved in a crime or an accident and being held in custody. The fraudsters then demand money to resolve the situation. In some cases, victims are subjected to a "Digital Arrest," where they must stay on a video call while the scammers continue their demands....