Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Cyber Crime Police Station, Goa, has cracked a high-profile cyber fraud case involving over ₹2.6 crore, arresting a key accused from Kerala who allegedly impersonated senior officials from TRAI and the CBI to dupe a South Goa woman.
According to the police, the victim, a resident of Aquem Road, Margao, was targeted between May 20 and June 2 this year through a series of phone and WhatsApp messages from individuals posing as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials. The fraudsters claimed a police case was registered against her Aadhaar number and even sent her a fake Supreme Court order to pressurize her into complying with their instructions.
The complainant was threatened and psychologically coerced into transferring a total sum of ₹2,60,33,634 into various bank accounts. Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered on June 9 under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3) r/w 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66-D of the IT Act.
During investigation, police found that ₹76.35 lakh had been transferred in two separate transactions to an ICICI Bank account held by one Rijas K, a resident of Kozhikode, Kerala.
A police team comprising PSI Navin Naik, PC Shantaram Narse, and PC Yash Kole, under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar, ASP Akshat Ayush, IPS, and SP Cyber Crime Rahul Gupta, IPS, travelled to Kerala. With assistance from local police, the team arrested Rijas K (35), a resident of Kulangarapadam, Farook College, Kozhikode.
During custodial interrogation, Rijas reportedly confessed to being a habitual cyber fraudster involved in at least 11 cybercrime cases across India, with total fraud amounts pegged at approximately ₹22.78 crore.
Goa Police has urged citizens to remain vigilant and avoid responding to suspicious calls or messages, especially those claiming to be from government authorities. Any such incidents should be reported immediately to the Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 or the nearest police station.
