Monk Scammed of ₹2.5 Crore in 26-Day Shocking Cyberfraud Case

In a shocking case of cybercrime, a senior monk from the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram in Gwalior has fallen victim to what authorities are calling Madhya Pradesh’s biggest "digital arrest" scam. Swami Supradiptananda, the ashram’s secretary, was virtually held hostage for 26 days through continuous video calls and manipulated into transferring a staggering ₹2.52 crore to various bank accounts across India.

The fraud began on March 17, when Swami Supradiptananda received a video call from someone posing as a police officer from Nashik, Maharashtra. The caller falsely claimed that the monk’s name had appeared in a money laundering investigation linked to businessman Naresh Goyal.

Using fear tactics and fabricated legal threats, the fraudsters convinced the monk that full cooperation was necessary to avoid legal consequences. As part of the manipulation, he was instructed to remain constantly available via video call — a method police have now termed a “digital arrest.” Over the course of several weeks, he was systematically coerced into transferring large sums of money in multiple transactions, believing it would help clear his name. summarize

Swami Supradiptananda ended up transferring a total of ₹2.52 crore to 12 different bank accounts across the country. The scammers assured him that the amount would be refunded by April 15, claiming it was all part of a verification procedure. However, when the promised return never materialised, he filed an official complaint with the Gwalior Superintendent of Police, Dharamveer Singh.

The Gwalior Crime Branch filed an FIR and launched an investigation into the matter. The case has been transferred to the Cyber Police Station, where authorities are working to track down the perpetrators and recover the stolen funds. Assistant Superintendent of Police Niranjan Sharma confirmed the incident, explaining, "The victim was contacted by an individual pretending to be from the Nashik Police, who falsely claimed he was involved in a money laundering case. The fraudsters gained his trust, obtained his Aadhaar details, and extorted approximately ₹2.5 crore through intimidation."

Authorities suspect that this incident may be part of a wider interstate or even international cybercrime network, and are investigating the possibility of additional victims or collaborators.