Kannur cyber police nab Punjab man for duping doctor of ₹10.5 lakh in ‘digital arrest’ scam

Kannur City Cyber ​​police arrested a 28-year-old man from Punjab in connection with the ‘digital arrest’ scam, in which a team of fraudsters posed as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers and duped a woman doctor from Thalassery of ₹ 10.5 lakh.

The accused, identified as Jeevan Ram, a native of Punjab’s Ludhiana district, was arrested from a remote village after a high-risk operation by the cyber police team. Police said the arrest followed a five-day pursuit through inclement weather and challenging conditions as the defendant frequently moved locations to avoid detection.

The incident took place on November 30, 2025, when fraudsters pretended to be Mumbai-based CBI officers and contacted the doctor via Whatapp video call. They threatened him with a trumped-up money laundering case and claimed he was under ‘digital arrest’. The victim was forced to transfer ₹10.5 lakh to multiple bank accounts.

Investigators found that the fraudulent amount was later withdrawn by Jeevan Ram using checks from linked bank accounts.

The arrest was made by a team led by Prajeesh TP, assistant inspector of Kannur City Cyber ​​police station, acting on the instructions of City Police Commissioner P. Nidhinraj. Police said further investigations were ongoing to identify other members of the racket and trace additional financial connections.