Kolhapur: A 61-year-old retired Navodaya School teacher from Savlaj village in Tasgaon tehsil lost Rs 59 lakh in a week-long digital scam in Jan after being coerced into liquidating his fixed deposits and a senior citizen savings scheme.Police identified the fraud victim as Annasaheb Balgonda Patil, a resident of Savlaj village in Tasgaon tehsil of Sangli district, who lives with his wife, son and daughter. “The ordeal began on Jan 8 when Patil received a phone call from someone claiming to be from a telecom firm. The caller alleged that an FIR had been registered against him and transferred the call to what was claimed to be a Bengaluru police station. Patil was told that his cellphone number was being used to harass women and that he would need to obtain a clearance certificate,” an officer said.Later that day, Patil received a WhatsApp call from a person using the name Ajay Patil, who threatened to arrest him. “The next day, Ajay again contacted him and transferred the call to another man identifying himself as former Mumbai police encounter specialist, who displayed a CBI logo during the WhatsApp call,” the officer said, adding, “The person identifying as former Mumbai police officer alleged that a man named Sadakat Khan had been arrested for human trafficking and that Patil’s Aadhaar card had been found in Khan’s possession. He even showed Patil a photo of Khan holding bundles of cash to reinforce the claim.”Over the next two days, the duo repeatedly called Patil, questioning his cooperation and warning him not to approach the local police. “On Jan 12, the self-claimed former Mumbai officer told Patil the Supreme Court’s auditor needed to verify whether Patil’s money was linked to the alleged crime proceeds. Under pressure, Patil liquidated his FD and transferred the funds to his savings account. He was then instructed to transfer the amounts via RTGS into two different bank accounts, one transfer on Jan 13, and the remaining amount the next day,” the officer said.The scammers then demanded an additional Rs 47 lakh as a “security deposit,” claiming that the serial numbers of the money he had transferred matched those recovered in the human trafficking case. “They also showed him fake income tax orders and an “arrest warrant”, threatening immediate detention,” the officer said.When Patil approached his nephew to arrange more money, his relatives informed him that he had been cheated.Inspector Vishal Takle of the Tasgaon police said, “The FIR was registered on Wednesday. We are going to transfer the case to the Sangli police’s cyber cell for further investigation since the crime took place through digital means.”The FIR names Ajay Patil and the person identifying as the former Mumbai police officer a person under various sections of the IT Act and provisions of the BNS 2023.
