New Delhi/Gandhinagar: In a major development in the fight against “digital arrest” frauds, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh FIR (RC2212026E0001) on March 11, 2026, taking over the high-value cyber fraud case originally registered by Gujarat Police’s CID Cyber Crime unit.
The case involves the alleged siphoning of ₹19,24,41,541 (over ₹19.24 crore) from Mrs. Munirakumari Sharadchandra Vyas, a 74-year-old retired gynecologist residing at 185/Ch-6 Cross Road, Sector-29, Gandhinagar. The scam unfolded between March 15, 2025 and July 16, 2025 through a sophisticated multi-stage digital arrest operation.According to the CBI FIR, which reproduces the original Gujarat Police FIR No. 11201018250026 dated July 21, 2025, the accused impersonated senior officials using multiple mobile and WhatsApp numbers.
The gang allegedly contacted the elderly complainant, claimed that abusive SMS were being sent from one of her numbers (7738944642), and threatened to block all her mobile connections unless she cooperated. They obtained her Aadhaar number (487802970967) and falsely implicated her in a money laundering case under PMLA and FEMA.
Using fabricated letters on forged letterheads of the Directorate of Enforcement, the fraudsters kept the victim under continuous WhatsApp video surveillance, claiming a “person in civil dress” was monitoring her. They coerced her into liquidating fixed deposits, selling gold ornaments, taking loans against locker gold, selling property, and shares.
The proceeds were transferred via RTGS/NEFT to over 40 mule bank accounts across Federal Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Yes Bank, Bandhan Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and others in names such as Shivam Satpute, Prashant Sharma, Sarasvati Varma, Unique Global Enterprises, and various trusts and companies.The fraudsters even issued fake “Financial Supervisory Freezing Certificate” receipts assuring the victim that the money would be returned after “completion of investigation”. No money has been returned.
The case was transferred to the CBI following directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Suo Moto Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 3 of 2025. The Government of Gujarat issued consent under Section 6 of the DSPE Act on February 19, 2026, and the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) issued the notification under Section 5 on March 11, 2026, enabling the CBI to take over the probe.
The CBI’s Economic Offences Wing-III (EO-III), Delhi has re-registered the case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — 127(4), 204, 308(6), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 337, 340(2), 61(2) — and Sections 66C & 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The investigation has been entrusted to Inspector Mandeep of CBI EO-III Delhi. Superintendent of Police Navin Kumar Soni, IRS, has signed the FIR.
This is the latest in a series of digital arrest cases being handed over to the CBI by various state police forces following Supreme Court directions.
The modus operandi matches the pattern seen in several similar scams targeting senior citizens across India.The CBI has not issued any further statement on the status of arrests or recovery of funds.
