An elderly couple, both retired government employees, lost ₹2.4 crore after reportedly being held under “virtual arrest” for 11 days by alleged cyber fraudsters in Kanhangad in Kasaragod.
According to the police, the victims are a 69-year-old retired teacher and his 72-year-old wife, a retired government homeopathy doctor. The couple live alone in a rented house at Kanhangad.
“It was on the morning of August 10 that my wife received a call from an international number. The caller said she was involved in a money laundering case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI],” the retired teacher said, requesting anonymity.
The scammers allegedly displayed a fake Aadhaar card and said the couple was under “virtual arrest. On August 12, the couple was reportedly told that their case would be heard virtually by a CBI court in Mumbai. They were then asked to transfer all their savings for ‘verification,’ with the assurance that the money would be deposited in accounts belonging to the Supreme Court.
Between August 19 and 21, the couple transferred ₹2.4 crore in four transactions as directed. They realised it was a scam only after a relative visited their home, following which they alerted the police.
The Kasaragod Cyber police registered a case on August 22 under Section 316(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
Published – August 28, 2025 11:55 pm IST
