The investigation into the ₹1.58 crore digital arrest fraud involving a retired laboratory technician in Gwalior has taken a significant turn, with cyber police arresting two cousins from Morena district for their alleged role in routing the defrauded money through cryptocurrency linked to a foreign network.

The accused, identified as Rahul Tomar and Rohit Tomar of Porsa in Morena, were arrested on Friday night. Investigators claim the duo acted as financial facilitators for an international cyber fraud syndicate by converting the stolen funds into cryptocurrency before transferring them further.

According to police, preliminary interrogation revealed that the accused were in contact with a foreign, allegedly Chinese, network through the messaging platform Telegram. The fraud proceeds were reportedly converted into USDT (Tether) using the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, making the money trail more difficult to trace.

During the operation, cyber police recovered 10 ATM cards, three cheque books, two mobile phones and three SIM cards from the accused. Officials believe the seized material could provide crucial leads into the wider financial network involved in the cyber fraud.

The latest arrests come after police had earlier apprehended a businessman from Nashik, Maharashtra, whose bank account allegedly received the first layer of funds transferred by the victim.

Victim Was Kept Under 'Digital House Arrest'

The case revolves around Meenakshi Nakhre, a 69-year-old retired health department laboratory technician from Janakganj in Gwalior. According to investigators, cyber fraudsters impersonated officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and contacted her through video calls.

The fraudsters allegedly claimed that she was involved in a money laundering investigation and threatened her with arrest. Over a period of 33 days, they kept her under what has become known as a "digital arrest," preventing her from contacting others while coercing her into liquidating fixed deposits and transferring money to multiple bank accounts under the pretext of verification.

In total, the victim allegedly transferred ₹1.58 crore to accounts controlled by the fraudsters.

Bank Trail Led Investigators to Morena

Cyber investigators tracked the movement of funds by analysing bank transaction records. During the investigation, they found that ₹4 lakh from the fraud amount had been credited to Rahul Tomar's bank account.

During questioning, Rahul allegedly admitted that he had allowed his bank account to be used by his cousin Rohit in exchange for commission. Based on this disclosure, police detained Rohit for further interrogation.

Police claim Rohit confessed to operating as part of a Telegram-based foreign network that purchased USDT using the stolen money before transferring the cryptocurrency onward, a method commonly used to obscure the origin and destination of illicit funds.

Probe Expands into Wider Cyber Network

DSP Cyber Manish Yadav said both accused have been taken into police remand and are being questioned to identify other members of the syndicate. Investigators are also tracing additional bank accounts that received portions of the fraud amount and examining the digital trail created through cryptocurrency transactions.

Officials believe the arrests could help expose a larger interstate and international cyber fraud network involved in digital arrest scams, which have witnessed a sharp rise across India in recent months.

The investigation remains ongoing, and police have indicated that more arrests are possible as they continue to analyse financial records, digital communications and cryptocurrency transactions linked to the case.