76-year-old Hyderabad resident dies after 3 days of digital arrest

Digital Arrest

A shocking case of cybercrime has come to light in Hyderabad, where a 76-year-old retired government doctor died of a heart attack after being harassed for three days by fraudsters posing as law enforcement officials. According to a Times of India report, the scammers extorted Rs 6.6 lakh from her and continued sending threats even after her death.

Police said the victim, who earlier served as chief senior resident medical officer at Mamidipudi Nagarjuna Area Hospital in Malakpet, was first contacted on September 5 through WhatsApp video calls. The callers used the Bengaluru police logo as their profile picture and even showed fake documents bearing seals of the Supreme Court, Enforcement Directorate, and RBI.

Accusing her of involvement in human trafficking, they threatened to arrest her under the National Security Act unless she transferred money. Terrified, she wired ₹6.6 lakh from her Union Bank pension account to an ICICI Bank account in Maharashtra on September 6.

The harassment didn’t stop there. She kept receiving threatening messages, video calls, and even fake court notices from another number saved in her phone as “Jaishankar Sir.”

On September 8, after nearly 70 hours of mental torture, the woman collapsed at her home with severe chest pain. She was rushed to two different hospitals but could not be saved. She passed away around 12.30 pm.

Her family told police they only discovered the extent of the harassment after her funeral on September 9. Shockingly, the scammers continued to message even after her death — with their last text being a casual “good morning” on September 10.

The Hyderabad cybercrime police have filed a case under the IT Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Investigators are now tracking the phone numbers and bank accounts used by the fraudsters.