Goa Cyber Crime Police Arrest Mastermind of ₹1 Crore ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam

In a major breakthrough in the high-profile ‘digital arrest’ scam case of December 2024, the Goa Cyber Crime Police have arrested the alleged mastermind, Anil Tripathi, a Singapore resident. His arrest takes the total number of accused held in the case to seven.

Police said the breakthrough followed a detailed technical and financial trail analysis, as well as the interrogation of previously arrested suspects. Based on this evidence, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against Tripathi, who was detained at Delhi Airport upon arrival from Singapore.

A team led by PSI Anil Polekar and Head Constable Anay Naik, under the supervision of PI Deepak Pednekar and SP Rahul Gupta, IPS, travelled to Delhi to formally arrest Tripathi. He was brought to Goa on a transit remand on August 15 and has been remanded to five days’ police custody.

The case pertains to a victim from Siolim who was defrauded of Rs 1 crore by a caller posing as an officer of the Delhi Crime Branch.

Investigators revealed that Tripathi is a habitual offender, previously arrested in Singapore for a fake tech support scam involving fraud of 64,000 US dollars, of which USD 15,000 was illegally transferred to Indian bank accounts from a senior citizen in Singapore.

Police said efforts are underway to track down other members of the transnational cybercrime network. The probe continues under the supervision of PI Pednekar at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Ribandar.