IIT Delhi student’s digital arrest: Police arrest man in Chennai with China links

NEW DELHI: A 29-year-old man was arrested in connection with the digital arrest case of an IIT student in south-west Delhi's Hauz Khas.
Police said the scammer collaborated with Chinese fraudsters, sending them the amount extracted from the student after converting it to cryptocurrency.
On Nov 16 last year, a fourth-year engineering student in IIT Delhi received what turned out to be a fraudulent call from a courier service. The caller told the student that a parcel in his name was sent from Mumbai to Beijing. When the student denied ownership, he was instructed to report the issue to police. The caller then forwarded the student's call supposedly to Gamdevi police station.
The person who pretended to be a police officer on the other side of the call falsely accused the student of being linked to illegal cases and threatened arrest, stating a warrant had been issued in his name.
"The caller further claimed that the student's future would be ruined and offered to record his statement via a WhatsApp video call. The fraudsters took turns impersonating as police officers and ED officials, manipulating the complainant into transferring money from his bank accounts," a police source said.
On Nov 18, the scammers contacted the student again, claiming another illegal parcel from a courier firm and demanding more money. The complainant transferred a total of Rs 4 lakh. A case was registered, and the investigation focused on tracking the money trail and conducting technical analysis.
The investigation revealed that a foreign number operating from Hong Kong was involved in calling the complainant. Further investigation showed that part of the cheated amount was transferred to a bank account linked to Tejpal Sharma of Rai Singh Nagar, Rajasthan. Sharma stated that he gave his ATM card to his friend Gagandeep Singh, who changed the linked mobile number.
Police said Gagandeep was traced and admitted to providing the account to his friend Bajrang. Surveillance revealed withdrawals from an ATM in Lohawat, Rajasthan, made by a man later identified as Madan Lal, a 29-year-old whom the police arrested in Chennai.
Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Surendra Choudhary formed a team under SHO (cyber) Vikas Buldak. The team conducted searches in Chennai and arrested Madan. During interrogation, he admitted to receiving bank account details from Bajrang for Rs 20,000, withdrawing fraudulent funds, and exchanging the money for USDT (cryptocurrency) through a contact named Ravi Chaudhary.
Madan later sold the USDT to a Chinese woman via WhatsApp, receiving payment in rupees. Two mobile phones, multiple ATM cards and cheque books were found on him. Madan Lal, is a resident of Lohawat, was previously involved in an NDPS case.