The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police arrested three members of an organised gang involved in digital fraud by impersonating officers of law enforcement agencies such as the CBI, Narcotics Control Bureau, Crime Branch to “digitally arrest” their victims.

The accused — identified as Shyam, Hasrhal and Punit Sharma — all residents of Delhi, were held in Lucknow on Tuesday after a thorough investigation into their operations, which included ‘digital arrest’ of victims and coercing them into sharing sensitive financial information.

According to a press statement, the arrests followed an ongoing STF probe that began after a victim, Doctor Ashok Solanki from Lucknow, reported being scammed of Rs 48 lakh. The gang had tricked him into believing he was under investigation and ‘digitally arrested’ him for two days.

During their interrogation, the accused revealed how they were recruited by a member of the gang operating through Telegram, where they were trained to impersonate officers and deceive victims into providing banking details, including account numbers, passwords, and ATM card information.

They would then use a fraudulent app to intercept SMS alerts and gain access to the victim’s bank account, transferring the stolen money into multiple layers of corporate accounts, which were subsequently laundered into cash and cryptocurrency.