Mumbai: Retired IIT-Bombay Staffer Cheated of Rs 4.62 Crore in Fake CBI Threat Scam, Two Arrested

Two people have been arrested for their alleged role in a cyber fraud in which a 74-year-old retired Indian Institute of Technology Bombay staff member was cheated of Rs 4.62 crore after being threatened with fake Central Bureau of Investigation action, police said. The complainant, a woman who earlier served as a medical officer at IIT-B in Mumbai, was targeted through an elaborate online scam, according to officials. The fraudsters convinced her that serious legal action was imminent, forcing her to act in panic. The defrauded amount was transferred to multiple bank accounts linked to the accused, the police added.

Police identified the arrested accused as Narendra Sinha and Gunjan Devkumar Dineshchandra, who allegedly allowed cybercriminals to use their bank accounts to channel the stolen funds. Officials said the victim initially received a video call from a person claiming to be a telecom department official. This was followed by another call from an individual posing as an IPS officer, who falsely alleged that her Aadhaar details had been misused to open an account involved in laundering Rs 6 crore. She was warned that a CBI case had been registered and that arrest was imminent.

Under extreme psychological pressure, the woman prematurely encashed her fixed and recurring deposits and transferred Rs 4.62 crore between October 2025 and January 2026 to accounts provided by the fraudsters, police said. After realising she had been deceived, she approached the police and filed a complaint. A case was registered for cheating by impersonation and relevant offences under the Information Technology Act. The investigation was later handed over to the Western Region Cyber Cell to trace the money trail and identify those involved in the organised cybercrime network.

Investigators found that Sinha and Dineshchandra had opened multiple bank accounts and handed them over to cyber fraudsters, officials said. Money deposited into these accounts was withdrawn by the duo and passed on to the main accused in return for commissions. Based on these findings, both were arrested, and further investigation is underway to identify additional suspects. In a separate case, Mumbai’s North Cyber Police earlier arrested three Pune-based men for allegedly cheating a Borivli businessman of Rs 48.5 lakh through fake stock market investment schemes promising high returns.