Kolkata police arrests mastermind behind ‘Digital Arrest’ scams in Bengaluru

Team Udayavani, Jan 11, 2025, 10:52 AM IST

Kolkata police have arrested Chirag Kapoor alias Chintak Raj, the mastermind behind the ‘Digital Arrest’ scams from Bengaluru’s JP Nagar.

Kapoor, who had been evading authorities for seven months, is a key suspect in 930 digital arrest cases filed across the country as reported by media outlets.

Kapoor, claiming to be a software engineer, managed a network that defrauded victims by posing as police officers during video calls, coercing them into transferring money. With Kapoor’s arrest, a total of 11 suspects have been apprehended, resolving numerous pending cases.

The scam came to light when Debashree Datta from Kolkata lost Rs 47 lakh in a similar fraud on June 17, 2024. Victims were intimidated into believing their family members would be arrested unless they transferred money to specified accounts. After realizing the fraud, Datta lodged a complaint with the police.

Operating from his office, Kapoor managed the fraudulent activities remotely through CCTV. He created fake accounts and sold the information to cyber fraudsters nationwide. Police seized 104 passbooks, 61 mobile phones, 33 debit cards, two QR code machines, 140 SIM cards, and other documents from his office.