3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer

<!doctype html><html class="no-js" lang="en"><head><link href="//static.toiimg.com" rel="preconnect"/><link href="//securepubads.g.doubleclick.net" rel="preconnect"/><link href="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com" rel="preconnect"/><link href="//ads.pubmatic.com" rel="preconnect"/><link href="//assets.toiimg.com" rel="preconnect" crossorigin="anonymous"/><link href="https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/width-800,height-450,imgsize-76134,msid-115690051/115690051.jpg" rel="preload" fetchPriority="high" as="image"/><link href="https://assets.toiimg.com/js/til_prebid.js?v=16" rel="preload" fetchPriority="high" as="script"/><link href="https://c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/apstag.js" rel="preload" fetchPriority="high" as="script"/><link href="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js?network-code=7176" rel="preload" fetchPriority="high" as="script"/><link href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toiads_prebid/minify-1.cms" rel="preload" fetchPriority="high" as="script"/><meta charSet="utf-8"/><meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge"/><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1"/><title>3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer - Times of India</title><meta name="description" content="Crime News: The modus operandi is uncannily similar – drugs found in parcel, Aadhaar details of victim used in crime, video call with fake police officer on Whats"/><meta name="keywords" content="Digital Arrest Scam,digital arrest,digital,cyber scam,cyber fraud"/><link rel="canonical" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms"/><link rel="amphtml" href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/amp_articleshow/115683697.cms"/><meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:large"/><meta property="og:title" content="3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer - Times of India"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms"/><meta property="og:image" content="https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-115690051,width-1070,height-580,imgsize-76134,resizemode-75,overlay-toi_sw,pt-32,y_pad-40/photo.jpg"/><meta property="og:description" content="Crime News: The modus operandi is uncannily similar – drugs found in parcel, Aadhaar details of victim used in crime, video call with fake police officer on Whats"/><meta property="twitter:url" content="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms"/><meta property="twitter:image" content="https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-115690051,width-1070,height-580,imgsize-76134,resizemode-75,overlay-toi_sw,pt-32,y_pad-40/photo.jpg"/><meta property="twitter:title" content="3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer - Times of India"/><meta property="twitter:description" content="Crime News: The modus operandi is uncannily similar – drugs found in parcel, Aadhaar details of victim used in crime, video call with fake police officer on Whats"/><meta name="twitter:card" value="summary_large_image"/><meta name="twitter:site" value="@timesofindia"/><meta property="og:image:width" content="1070"/><meta property="og:image:height" content="580"/><meta name="mobile-web-app-capable" content="yes"/><meta name="news_keywords" content="Digital Arrest Scam,digital arrest,digital,cyber scam,cyber fraud"/><meta name="The Times of India" content="app-id=427589329,app-argument=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms"/><meta name="y_key" content="b1abb36a8d5c19c9"/><meta content="en" http-equiv="content-language"/><meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"/><meta content="#af2c2c" name="theme-color"/><meta content="yes" name="apple-mobile-web-app-capable"/><meta content="true" name="HandheldFriendly"/><meta content="width" name="MobileOptimized"/><meta property="fb:pages" content="26781952138"/><meta property="fb:pages" content="227797153941209"/><meta content="GdaeWTVPddYtkw-2hEyDpLYMw9SjsNr4dS5Z-9tfcT0" name="google-site-verification"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-iphone-precomposed.png" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-ipad-precomposed.png" sizes="72x72" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-ipad-retina-precomposed.png" sizes="76x76" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-iphone-retina-precomposed.png" sizes="114x114" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-ipad-retina-precomposed.png" sizes="120x120" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-ipad-retina-precomposed.png" sizes="144x144" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><link href="https://m.timesofindia.com/touch-icon-ipad-retina-precomposed.png" sizes="152x152" rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed"/><meta content="NOODP" name="robots"/><meta content="117787264903013" property="fb:app_id"/><meta content="The Times of India" property="og:site_name"/><meta content="article" property="og:type"/><link href="/pn_manifest.cms?v=1" rel="manifest"/><link href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/icons/toifavicon.ico" rel="apple-touch-icon"/><link href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/icons/toifavicon.ico" rel=""shortcut icon"/><style type="text/css" data-firstfoldstyles="true">:root{--primary-dark-color:#1a1a1a;--primary-dark-color-rgba:26,26,26;--border-color:#ececec;--invert:invert(0);--white-color:#fff;--white-color-rgba:255,255,255;--offwhite-color:#f6f6f6}.consent-popup *{font-family:Verdana!important}.consent-popup{background:#1a1a1a!important;margin:0 auto;position:relative;z-index:100}.consent-popup .consent-banner{margin:0 auto;max-width:1160px}.consent-banner{-moz-text-size-adjust:100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:100%;-ms-text-size-adjust:100%;font-size:14px;line-height:1;padding:16px 16px 12px}.consent-banner .column1{font:12px/18px Verdana;margin-bottom:12px;width:100%}.consent-banner .column2{float:right;height:32px;margin:0;text-align:center}.consent-banner h2{color:#fff;font:700 16px/24px Verdana;margin-bottom:8px}.consent-banner label,.consent-banner p{color:#fff;font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px}.consent-banner label{line-height:normal;padding-left:12px}.consent-banner button#consent-continue-button,.consent-banner li a{color:#f4b408;cursor:pointer;display:block;font-size:12px;font-weight:600;line-height:16;text-decoration:none}.consent-banner button#consent-continue-button{background:0;-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;-webkit-border-radius:4px;-moz-border-radius:4px;border-radius:4px;font-weight:600;height:auto;line-height:1;padding:10px;text-transform:uppercase;width:136px}#more{display:none}.consent-popup.space{bottom:0;left:0;max-width:100%;padding:8px 0;position:fixed;width:100%;z-index:999999999}.checkbox{position:relative}.checkbox [type=checkbox]:not(:checked)+label:after{opacity:0;-webkit-transform:scale(0);-moz-transform:scale(0);-ms-transform:scale(0);-o-transform:scale(0);transform:scale(0)}.checkbox [type=checkbox]:checked+label:after{opacity:1;-webkit-transform:scale(1);-moz-transform:scale(1);-ms-transform:scale(1);-o-transform:scale(1);transform:scale(1)}.checkbox [type=checkbox]:checked+label:before,.checkbox [type=checkbox]:not(:checked)+label:before{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;background:#fff;border:1px solid #1a1a1a;-webkit-border-radius:100%;-moz-border-radius:100%;border-radius:100%;content:"";height:20px;left:-2px;position:absolute;top:-2px;width:20px}.checkbox [type=checkbox]:checked+label:after,.checkbox [type=checkbox]:not(:checked)+label:after{border:solid #1a1a1a;border-width:0 1px 1px 0;content:"";height:9px;left:6px;position:absolute;top:3px;-webkit-transform:rotate(45deg);-moz-transform:rotate(45deg);-ms-transform:rotate(45deg);-o-transform:rotate(45deg);transform:rotate(45deg);-webkit-transition:all .2s ease;-moz-transition:all .2s ease;-ms-transition:all .2s ease;-o-transition:all .2s ease;transition:all .2s ease;width:5px}.consent-banner div.wrapper{width:100%}.consent-popup .checkbox{border-top:none;display:inline-block;margin-top:4px}.consent-popup{background:#0d0d0d}.consent-banner p a{color:#fff;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none}.consent-banner button#consent-continue-button{background-color:#e21b22;border:none;border-radius:20px;color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-weight:700;margin-top:-6px;text-transform:capitalize}.consent-toast-popup{align-items:center;display:flex;justify-content:center}.consent-toast-popup p{font-size:14px;line-height:20px}.consent-toast-popup .column1{padding-right:44px;width:auto}#toast-close-button{background:none;border:none;height:20px;position:relative;width:20px}#toast-close-button:after,#toast-close-button:before{background:#fff;content:"";height:16px;position:absolute;right:8px;top:2px;transform:rotate(45deg);width:1px}#toast-close-button:after{transform:rotate(135deg)}.closebtn{height:18px;position:absolute;right:8px;text-indent:-9999px;top:8px;width:18px}.closebtn:after,.closebtn:before{background-color:#fff;content:"";display:block;height:18px;left:9px;position:absolute;top:0;width:1px}.closebtn:before{transform:rotate(45deg)}.closebtn:after{transform:rotate(-45deg)}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.consent-banner{padding:24px 16px 80px}.consent-banner label{display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:-19px;padding-left:24px;position:relative}.consent-banner .column2{bottom:26px;position:absolute}.consent-popup.space{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;-webkit-border-radius:20px 20px 0 0;-moz-border-radius:20px 20px 0 0;border-radius:20px 20px 0 0}::-webkit-scrollbar{background:transparent;display:none;height:0;width:0}}@media screen and (min-width:1300px){.toipLayout:not(.layout_type_2) .contentwrapper{max-width:1168px}}.contentwrapper{margin:0 auto;max-width:1000px;width:100%}@media screen and (min-width:1511px){.contentwrapper{max-width:1168px}}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.contentwrapper{background:var(--white-color);overflow-x:hidden;padding:0;width:100%}}@keyframes opacity{0%{opacity:.2}to{opacity:1}}html{-ms-text-size-adjust:100%;-webkit-text-size-adjust:100%}body,html{-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch}body{font-family:Verdana;margin:0}article,details,section{display:block}a{background-color:transparent}b{font-weight:700}h1{font-size:2em;margin:.67em 0}a{color:var(--primary-dark-color)}img{border:0;max-width:100%}button,input{color:inherit;font:inherit;margin:0}button{border:none;outline:none}button{text-transform:none}button,html input[type=button],input[type=reset],input[type=submit]{-webkit-appearance:button;cursor:pointer}input{line-height:normal}.desktop_paisa{background:rgba(0,0,0,.85);border-bottom:1px solid hsla(0,0%,100%,.15);padding:10px 0;text-align:center}.desktop_paisa:empty{display:none}.desktop_paisa>div{display:inline-block}.desktop_paisa.snowwhite{background-color:#fff}.appgutter{display:none;margin:0 auto;position:sticky;top:0}.appgutter #TOI_appgutter_left,.appgutter #TOI_appgutter_right{height:100vh;max-height:600px;min-width:130px;position:absolute;right:0;-webkit-transform:translateX(105%);-moz-transform:translateX(105%);-ms-transform:translateX(105%);-o-transform:translateX(105%);transform:translateX(105%)}.appgutter #TOI_appgutter_left{right:inherit;-webkit-transform:translateX(-105%);-moz-transform:translateX(-105%);-ms-transform:translateX(-105%);-o-transform:translateX(-105%);transform:translateX(-105%)}.rel{position:relative}li{list-style:none}html{color:var(--primary-dark-color);font-family:Verdana;font-size:1em;font-weight:100;line-height:1.375}a{color:#0050b3;text-decoration:none}*,:after,:before{-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0;padding:0}body{-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale;font-size:62.5%;font-weight:400;overflow-x:hidden}.mPws3{-ms-flex-pack:center!important;justify-content:center!important;min-height:271px}.mPws3,.mPws3 .desktop_paisa{display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex}.mPws3 .desktop_paisa{-ms-flex-align:center!important;align-items:center!important;text-align:center}@-webkit-keyframes _dBwl{0%{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg)}to{-webkit-transform:rotate(1turn);transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes _dBwl{0%{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg)}to{-webkit-transform:rotate(1turn);transform:rotate(1turn)}}.user_area{display:inline-block;margin-left:10px;padding-right:10px;position:relative;vertical-align:middle}#login-popup{background:rgba(0,0,0,.6);cursor:default;height:100%;left:0;opacity:0;overflow-x:hidden;overflow-y:auto;position:fixed;top:0;-webkit-transition:all .5s;-moz-transition:all .5s;-ms-transition:all .5s;-o-transition:all .5s;transition:all .5s;visibility:hidden;width:100%;z-index:-1}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.user_area.hide{display:none}.user_area{background:inherit;color:#fff;font-size:12px;height:42px;padding:0;position:absolute;right:38px;top:1px;width:calc(100% - 84px);z-index:9999}}.toipLayout .user_area{padding-right:0}.toipLayout .user_area #login-popup+span .user-icon{background:url(https://static.toiimg.com/photo/63379366.cms);-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;background-size:cover;border:1px solid #ccc;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;display:inline-block;height:26px;margin-right:8px;vertical-align:middle;width:26px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.toipLayout .user_area #login-popup+span .user-icon img{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;-webkit-border-radius:50%;-moz-border-radius:50%;border-radius:50%;height:24px;width:24px}.toipLayout .logout-window{float:none;min-width:85px}}.toipLayout .Ec__7{height:68px}.toipLayout .Ec__7 .contentwrapper{height:inherit}.Ec__7{height:40px;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;top:0;width:100%}.Ec__7 .gCqY3{display:none}.Ec__7 .Ehwb3{height:0;margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;position:relative;top:16px;width:70%}.Ec__7 input[type=text]{background:#fff;-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;border:0;-webkit-border-radius:2px 2px 0 0;-moz-border-radius:2px 2px 0 0;border-radius:2px 2px 0 0;box-shadow:inset 0 0 3px #eaeaea;color:var(--primary-dark-color);font-size:15px;font-weight:400;margin-right:10px;padding:0 28px;text-transform:capitalize;width:100%}.Ec__7 input[type=text]::-webkit-input-placeholder{color:#595959}.Ec__7 input[type=text]:-ms-input-placeholder{color:#595959}.Ec__7 input[type=text]::placeholder{color:#595959}.Ec__7 input[type=submit]{-moz-appearance:none;-webkit-appearance:none;background:#e21b22;-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;border:0;-webkit-border-radius:2px;-moz-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px;color:#fff;cursor:pointer;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;width:150px}.Ec__7 input[type=submit],.Ec__7 input[type=text]{display:inline-block;height:40px;line-height:40px;vertical-align:middle}.Ec__7 ::placeholder,.Ec__7 input::placeholder{color:inherit}.Ec__7 form{display:flex;position:relative}.Ec__7 form:before{border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,.15);border-radius:50%;content:"";display:none;height:5px;left:11px;position:absolute;top:18px;width:5px}.YmIH_{background:url(https://static.toiimg.com/photo/89937430.cms) no-repeat 100%;cursor:pointer;height:30px;position:absolute;right:12px;top:18px;width:30px;z-index:500}.YmIH_:after,.YmIH_:before{content:"";position:absolute}.appgutter{position:sticky;top:0} .xf8Pm{color:var(--primary-dark-color);font-size:12px;line-height:17px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.xf8Pm{font-size:14px;padding:10px 0 20px}}.xf8Pm>a{color:var(--primary-dark-color);text-transform:capitalize}.xf8Pm span a{color:var(--primary-dark-color)}.RxQIy{font-size:11px;line-height:16px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.RxQIy{padding:0}}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.AQ4YE{padding:12px 16px 0}}.stroF{margin-bottom:20px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.stroF{margin-bottom:16px}}.zDbM6 .BGiqL{color:var(--primary-dark-color);font-size:12px;font-weight:600;line-height:16px}.zDbM6 .BGiqL+.BGiqL:before{content:",";padding-right:6px;text-transform:none}.zDbM6 .BGiqL+.BGiqL:last-of-type:before{content:"and";padding:0 6px}.Jz6TQ{color:#939393;font-size:10px;font-weight:600;line-height:16px}.ufTMv{color:#1a1a1a;display:block;font-size:24px;font-weight:700;line-height:32px;margin:4px 0}.muR4Y{-ms-flex-pack:justify!important;-ms-flex-align:center!important;align-items:center!important;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;justify-content:space-between!important;margin-bottom:16px}.ew3z8{margin-bottom:20px;position:relative}.ew3z8:before{content:"";display:block;padding-top:56.25%;width:100%}.ew3z8>.D3c9Y{bottom:0;left:0;position:absolute;right:0;top:0}.ew3z8>.D3c9Y img{height:100%;object-fit:cover;width:100%}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.ew3z8{margin-bottom:16px}}.ew3z8 img{background:var(--offwhite-color) url(https://static.toiimg.com/photo/83033472.cms) no-repeat center;width:100%}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.ew3z8 img{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;-webkit-border-radius:4px;-moz-border-radius:4px;border-radius:4px}}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.ew3z8 img{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;-webkit-border-radius:8px;-moz-border-radius:8px;border-radius:8px}}.LErKb{color:var(--primary-dark-color);font-size:14px;line-height:24px;margin-bottom:20px;position:relative}.LErKb:after{background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,hsla(0,0%,100%,0) -7%,#fff);bottom:0;content:"";height:40%;left:0;position:absolute;visibility:visible;width:100%}.Bk0n7{margin-bottom:12px;position:relative}.ufTMv.center{left:50%;-webkit-transform:translateX(-50%);-moz-transform:translateX(-50%);-ms-transform:translateX(-50%);-o-transform:translateX(-50%);transform:translateX(-50%)}.ufTMv.top{top:50px}.ufTMv.top.center{max-width:none;padding:0 20px}.ufTMv.left{left:50px}.ufTMv.right{right:50px}.AZ4wj{-ms-flex-pack:justify!important;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;font-size:12px;justify-content:space-between!important}.r31Sh .ufTMv{font-size:24px;line-height:32px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.r31Sh .ufTMv{font-size:36px;line-height:44px}}.r31Sh .muR4Y{margin-bottom:0}.r31Sh .Bk0n7{margin-bottom:32px}.r31Sh .Bk0n7 .GjgGe h1{margin:0 0 24px}.r31Sh .BGiqL{font-size:12px;font-weight:700;line-height:16px;-webkit-transition:all .3s;-moz-transition:all .3s;-ms-transition:all .3s;-o-transition:all .3s;transition:all .3s}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.r31Sh .BGiqL{font-size:14px;line-height:20px}}.r31Sh .LErKb{font-size:16px;line-height:28px}.r31Sh .LErKb:after{height:100%}.r31Sh .AZ4wj li{color:var(--primary-dark-color);font-size:14px;margin-bottom:4px}.r31Sh .AZ4wj li a:hover{color:#595959}.r31Sh .AZ4wj li .Jz6TQ,.r31Sh .AZ4wj li a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit}.r31Sh .AZ4wj li span+span{margin-left:6px;padding-left:6px;position:relative}.r31Sh .AZ4wj li span+span:before{background:#595959;content:"";height:14px;left:0;position:absolute;top:1px;width:1px}.r31Sh .E8VGP{font-size:12px;font-style:italic;line-height:20px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.r31Sh .E8VGP{font-size:16px;line-height:28px;margin-bottom:32px}}.S8BfE{align-items:center;display:flex}@media screen and (min-width:1511px){.contentwrapper.primeshow{max-width:1168px}}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.contentwrapper.primeshow{margin-bottom:40px}}.KfMMW{padding-top:24px}.L0k0c{margin:0 auto 36px;max-width:900px;width:100%}.AlAu5{padding:12px 16px;text-align:center}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.AlAu5{background:var(--offwhite-color)}}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.AlAu5{border-top:2px solid var(--primary-dark-color);left:50%;position:relative;-webkit-transform:translateX(-50%);-moz-transform:translateX(-50%);-ms-transform:translateX(-50%);-o-transform:translateX(-50%);transform:translateX(-50%);width:100vw}}.AlAu5 p{font-size:10px;line-height:16px}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (orientation:portrait),screen and (min-width:999px){.AlAu5 p{font-size:12px}}.f0JD1{margin-bottom:8px}.f0JD1 li{display:inline-block;margin:0 8px}.f0JD1 a{color:#e21b22;font-size:12px;line-height:16px}@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.contentwrapper{overflow:initial}}.NC4Wd{vertical-align:middle}.NC4Wd{display:inline-block}._W_74{display:inline-block;margin-right:8px;vertical-align:middle}._W_74 .h2N21{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;border:1px solid #e21b22;-webkit-border-radius:4px;-moz-border-radius:4px;border-radius:4px;color:#e21b22;display:inline-block;font:700 10px/12px Verdana;padding:4px 8px;text-align:center}.R5YFj .MvyrO{align-items:center;display:flex;height:30px;justify-content:space-between}.R5YFj{height:30px;position:relative}.R5YFj .MvyrO .awuxh:last-child{text-align:right}.R5YFj.L1k6M{border-bottom:1px solid #ececec;border-top:1px solid #ececec}.R5YFj.L1k6M .awuxh .user_area span{color:#595959;font-size:13px;text-transform:uppercase}.rFzaI .awuxh{flex:1;position:relative;z-index:1000}.rFzaI .awuxh:last-child{margin-right:40px}.rFzaI .ux4fe+.awuxh{text-align:center}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (max-width:1023px) and (orientation:portrait){.rFzaI .ux4fe+.awuxh{flex:0 0 100px}}.IW1Ba{-webkit-background-clip:padding-box;-moz-background-clip:padding;background-clip:padding-box;border:1px solid #ccc;-webkit-border-radius:2px;-moz-border-radius:2px;border-radius:2px;color:#999;display:inline-block;font-size:12px;font-weight:500;height:30px;line-height:20px;padding:5px 12px 5px 37px;text-transform:uppercase;width:70px}.IW1Ba:before{background:url(https://static.toiimg.com/photo/92430053.cms) no-repeat;background-position:4px 1px;background-size:18px;content:"";height:20px;left:6px;position:absolute;width:26px}.toipLayout .R5YFj{height:70px;position:relative}@media screen and (min-width:1260px){.toipLayout .R5YFj .contentwrapper{max-width:1260px}}@media screen and (min-width:1350px){.toipLayout .R5YFj .contentwrapper{max-width:1280px}}</style></head><body class="non_prime "><div id="aboundProfile"></div><div class="appgutter"><div id="TOI_appgutter_left"></div><div id="TOI_appgutter_right"></div></div><div id="app"><div class="nonAppView toipLayout layout_type_2" data-reactroot=""><div id="portal-modal"></div><div><div class="mPws3 d_jsH"><div id="div-gpt-ad-1629893944784-0-123456789-atf" class="adInv desktop_paisa OaOmW snowwhite" data-ua-type="2" onclick="stpPgtn(event)"></div></div><div class="header-container"><div class="popupWrapperSecond"></div><div id="top-bar-container" class="R5YFj L1k6M top-area sVCij "><div class="contentwrapper"><div class="MvyrO rFzaI rel"><div class="awuxh ux4fe"><a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com" class="IW1Ba" title="The Times of India" aria-label="toi-home" commonState="[object Object]" frmappuse="1">toi</a></div><div class="awuxh "><a href="/toi-plus" class="TMgYS" aria-label="toi-plus"></a></div><div class="awuxh "><div data-type="in_view" class="_W_74 "><a href="https://epaper.indiatimes.com/timesepaper/publication-the-times-of-india,city-delhi.cms?redirectionSource=TOIWeb" type="button" class="h2N21" data-ga="|NavBar-Header|Header-readEpaperCTA-Click" ga4Data="[object Object]" commonState="[object Object]" rel="noopener nofollow noreferrer" target="" frmappuse="1">Read ePaper</a></div><div class="NC4Wd"></div><div class="login_fix user_area clearfix hide "><div class=""><div id="login-popup" class=""></div><span class="logout-window"><div class="user-icon"></div><span class="login user-notloggedin">Sign In</span></span></div></div></div></div><div class=" Ec__7 AuiwR undefined"><div class="contentwrapper small rel"><span class="YmIH_" data-newga="NavBar-Search#Click#WEB-Prime-AS" data-setgacategory="true"></span><div class="Ehwb3 gCqY3"><form data-plugin="navsearchboxvalidate" name="frmsearch1" data-setgacategory="true"><input type="text" tabindex="-1" autofocus="" id="searchField" autoComplete="off" name="query" class="textbox" placeholder="Latest news, videos, photos"/><input type="submit" value="search" class="submit "/><input type="hidden" value="" name="type"/><input type="hidden" value="233446897" name="catkey"/><input type="hidden" value="3" name="search"/><input type="hidden" value="" name="sitesearch"/><input type="hidden" value="1" name="fields"/><input type="hidden" value="2" name="searchtype"/><input type="hidden" value="2" name="article"/><input type="hidden" value="0" name="search1"/></form><div class="zt6aW"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="contentwrapper clearfix primeshow "><div class="popupWrapper"></div><div class="clearfix rel"><div class="KfMMW"><div class="L0k0c"><article><div class="AQ4YE r31Sh"><div class="Bk0n7"><div class="GjgGe"><h1 class="ufTMv undefined">3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer</h1></div><div class="ew3z8"><div class="D3c9Y"><img src="https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/width-800,height-450,imgsize-76134,msid-115690051/115690051.jpg" alt=""/></div></div></div><div class="S8BfE"><div><div class="muR4Y"><div class="xf8Pm undefined RxQIy "></div></div><div class="stroF AZ4wj"><ul><li class="zDbM6"><a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/author-mateenhafeez-16423" class="BGiqL" commonState="[object Object]" frmappuse="1">Mateen Hafeez</a><a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/author-himanshidhawan-3883" class="BGiqL" commonState="[object Object]" frmappuse="1">Himanshi Dhawan</a><a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/author-avishekkumar-479252691" class="BGiqL" commonState="[object Object]" frmappuse="1">Avishek Kumar</a></li><li><span class="Jz6TQ">TIMESOFINDIA.COM</span><span>Updated: Nov 26, 2024, 13:56 IST IST</span></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="E8VGP"><p>The modus operandi is uncannily similar – drugs found in parcel, Aadhaar details of victim used in crime, video call with fake police officer on WhatsApp or Skype, and lakhs of rupees transferred online</p></div><div class="LErKb paywall">In perhaps the longest cases of ‘digital detention’ in Mumbai by cyber fraudsters posing as law enforcers, a 77-year-old south Mumbai woman was kept under ‘digital custody’ for more than a month. Threatened with arrest in a fake money laundering case, the accused duped her of Rs 3.8 crore, said the police.<br/>Neena (name changed), a homemaker, lives with her retired husband (75) in the city while her two children are abroad.</div></div></article></div><div id="story-blocker-new"><img src="https://static.toiimg.com/photo/99553042.cms" alt="shimmer"/></div><div class=""><div class="bannerBenefitsWrapper"><style data-emotion-css="67pfyw">.css-67pfyw{font-size:40px;line-height:48px;text-align:center;margin-bottom:20px;}.css-67pfyw img{width:120px;}@media screen and (min-width:768px) and (max-width:999px){.css-67pfyw{font-size:48px;line-height:60px;}.css-67pfyw img{width:120px;}}</style><h2 class="css-67pfyw"></h2><style data-emotion-css="1gdq9zx">@media screen and (max-width:767px),screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.css-1gdq9zx{width:100%;padding:12px 0;margin:0 0 5px;background:#fff;}}</style><div class="css-1gdq9zx"><style data-emotion-css="1tmvcs9">.css-1tmvcs9{padding:4px;border-radius:100px;border:solid 1px #e4e4e4;background-color:#fff;margin:18px 0;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-box-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;width:-webkit-max-content;width:-moz-max-content;width:max-content;margin:0 auto;}@media screen and (max-width:767px), screen and (orientation:landscape) and (max-width:1000px){.css-1tmvcs9{margin:0;border-radius:0px;width:100%;border-width:2px 0px 2px 0px;border-color:#FFF5F6;padding:0;}}</style><ul class="css-1tmvcs9"></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="kdUjJ"><div class="contentwrapper"><div class="SetLV"><ul></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div class="AlAu5" id="toipfooter"><ul class="f0JD1"><li><a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/faq">FAQs</a></li><li><a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/termsandcondition">Terms & Conditions</a></li><li><a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/privacypolicy">Privacy policy</a></li></ul><p>Copyright © 2024 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service.</p></div></div></div><script>window.isPrimeUserLayout = false; function stpPgtn(event) { event.stopPropagation(); } function stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event) { event.stopPropagation(); event.preventDefault(); } window.isPrime=false; window.showAdsOnTOIPlus=true; window.isPrimeLayout=true; window.isCWVTrackingAlreadyManged= true; window.cwvReportingInfo = window.cwvReportingInfo || {} window.cwvReportingInfo.userPercentage = "50"; window.cwvReportingInfo.section = "toi plus"; window.cwvReportingInfo.subsection = "crime"; window.cwvReportingInfo.business_property = "toi"; window.cwvReportingInfo.browsing_platform = "web"; window.cwvReportingInfo.page_template = "articleshow"; </script><script src="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi_webvital_events_min_js.cms" defer=""></script><script>window.gptRan = false; window.PWT = window.PWT || {}; window.googletag = window.googletag || { cmd: [] }; window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; window.TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager = window.TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager || { cmd: []} window.debugLogs = window.debugLogs || function (logStr, val) { try { if ( typeof window === 'object' && window.location.href.indexOf('debugLogs=1') > -1 ) { console.log(logStr, val); } } catch (e) { //console.log(e); } }; window.getFromClient = window.getFromClient || function (url, cb) { var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); xhr.open("GET", url, true); xhr.onreadystatechange = function () { if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) { if (cb && typeof cb === 'function') { try { var data = JSON.parse(this.responseText); cb(data); } catch (e) { cb(this.responseText); } } } } xhr.send(); }</script><script type="text/javascript"> function attachEventListners(elem, cb){ elem.addEventListener("pointerup", cb); elem.addEventListener("click", cb); elem.addEventListener("pointerdown", cb); } function handleUAType1(container) { const elements = (container || document).querySelectorAll('[data-ua-type="1"]'); elements.forEach(function(elem) { attachEventListners(elem, stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault); }); }; function handleUAType2(container) { const elements = (container || document).querySelectorAll('[data-ua-type="2"]'); elements.forEach(function(elem) { attachEventListners(elem, stpPgtn) }); }; handleUAType1(); handleUAType2(); window.addEventListener("HTML_UPDATED", (event) => { const container = event.detail.root; if (container) { handleUAType1(container) handleUAType2(container) } }); </script><script>window.Times = window.Times || {}; window.Times.pageLoadAdsArr = [{"name":"masthead","adType":"dfp","tn":"ad","size":[[980,200],[728,90]],"divId":"div-gpt-ad-1629893944784-0-123456789-atf","adCode":"\u002F7176\u002FTOI\u002FTOI_Paywall\u002FTOI_ROS_Paywall_Prime_728","deviceType":"","prebid":false}];</script><script>window.Times = window.Times || {}; window.Times.adsKeys = window.Times.adsKeys || {}; window.Times.adsKeys = {"BL":"1","Tmpl_SCN":"Articleshow","Channel":"toi","Meta_Keywords":"Digital Arrest Scam,digital arrest,digital,cyber scam,cyber fraud","SCN":"toi plus","SubSCN":"crime","Article_ID":"115683697"};</script><script async="">function loadScript(url) { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = url; script.async = true; script.onerror = function() { try{ window.DisplayBlkrDetected('prebidBlocked') } catch(e){ window.prebidBlocked = true; } }; document.head.appendChild(script); } loadScript('https://assets.toiimg.com/js/til_prebid.js?v=16')</script><script> function loadTAM(){ !function(a9,a,p,s,t,A,g){if(a[a9])return;function q(c,r){a[a9]._Q.push([c,r])}a[a9]={init:function(){q("i",arguments)},fetchBids:function(){q("f",arguments)},setDisplayBids:function(){},targetingKeys:function(){return[]},_Q:[]};A=p.createElement(s);A.async=!0;A.src=t;g=p.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];g.parentNode.insertBefore(A,g)}("apstag",window,document,"script","https://c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/apstag.js"); // initialize apstag with global settings apstag.init({"pubID":"5025","adServer":"googletag"}); } loadTAM();</script><script src="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js?network-code=7176" async=""></script><script src="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toiads_prebid/minify-1.cms" async=""></script><script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){ setTimeout(function() { w[l]=w[l]||[]; w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'}); var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.crossOrigin='anonymous';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); },0); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-P3PMSJN'); window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; </script><script>var _comscore = _comscore || []; var objComScore = { c1: "2", c2: "6036484" }; window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; function loadComscore() { var s = document.createElement("script"), el = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.async = true; s.defer = true; s.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js"; el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el); }; function fireComscore() { if (typeof(COMSCORE) !== "undefined" && typeof(COMSCORE.beacon) === "function") { COMSCORE.beacon(objComScore); } } if (window.TimesGDPR && TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.gdprCallback) { TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.gdprCallback(function(dataObj) { if (dataObj.isEUuser) { objComScore["cs_ucfr"] = 0; } _comscore.push(objComScore); loadComscore(); window.TimesApps.fireComscore = fireComscore; }); } else{ objComScore["cs_ucfr"] = 0; _comscore.push(objComScore); loadComscore(); }</script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js" async="" charset="UTF-8" data-domain-script="c4da41da-1e22-4088-b5ac-5c8293819628"></script><script type="text/javascript">var optOutCookieName = "optout"; var optOutCookieAge = 365; var date = new Date(); date = date.setTime(date.getTime() + optOutCookieAge * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000); function onAcceptOnetrust() { setCookieonetrust('optout', '0', window.location.host, 365); setCookieonetrust('ckns_policyV2', '1', window.location.host, 365); if (window.localStorage) { window.localStorage.setItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown', '1'); } } function onRejectOnetrust() { setCookieonetrust('optout', '1', window.location.host, 365); setCookieonetrust('ckns_policyV2', null, window.location.host, -1); if (window.localStorage) { window.localStorage.setItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown', '1'); } } var setCookieonetrust = function(name, value, domainName, days) { if (!!domainName) { var domain = ";domain=" + domainName; } if (!!days) { //Below variable is one day time in mili seconds. var _oneDayinMS = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; var d = new Date(); d.setTime(d.getTime() + (days * _oneDayinMS)); var expires = ";expires=" + d.toUTCString(); } document.cookie = name + "=" + value + ((expires) ? expires : '') + ((domain) ? domain : '') + ";path=/"; } function attachOnetrustListener() { if (window.onetrustEventsAttached) { return; } const onetrustSDK = document.querySelector("#onetrust-consent-sdk"); if (onetrustSDK) { const acceptBtn = onetrustSDK.querySelector("#onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-accept-btn-handler"); const closeBtn = onetrustSDK.querySelector("#onetrust-banner-sdk .onetrust-close-btn-handler"); const rejectAllBtn = onetrustSDK.querySelector("#onetrust-banner-sdk #onetrust-reject-all-handler"); // Adding events if acceptBtn is present then related buttons also be presented. if (acceptBtn) { acceptBtn.addEventListener("click", onAcceptOnetrust); } if (closeBtn) { closeBtn.addEventListener("click", onRejectOnetrust); } if (rejectAllBtn) { rejectAllBtn.addEventListener("click", onRejectOnetrust); } window.onetrustEventsAttached = true; const onetrustPCSDK = onetrustSDK.querySelector("#onetrust-pc-sdk"); if (!onetrustPCSDK) { return; } const allowBtn = onetrustPCSDK.querySelector("#accept-recommended-btn-handler"); const rejectBtn = onetrustPCSDK.querySelector(".ot-pc-refuse-all-handler"); const confirmChoiceBtn = onetrustPCSDK.querySelector(".save-preference-btn-handler"); // Adding events if allowBtn is present then related buttons also be presented. if (allowBtn) { allowBtn.addEventListener("click", onAcceptOnetrust); } if (confirmChoiceBtn) { confirmChoiceBtn.addEventListener("click", onAcceptOnetrust); } if (rejectBtn) { rejectBtn.addEventListener("click", onRejectOnetrust); } } } function OptanonWrapper() { attachOnetrustListener(); }</script><script type="text/javascript">window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; var TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; TimesApps.popupManagerFullyInitilizedEvent = new CustomEvent('popup_manager_ready', { detail: { message: 'popup_manager_ready' } }); TimesApps.popupManger2 = function popupManagerHigherOrderPopups() { window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; var TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; const debugLogs = function(str1, str2, str3) { if ( typeof window === 'object' && window.location.search && window.location.search.indexOf('debug') > -1 && window.console ) { console.log(str1, str2, str3); } }; TimesApps.PopUpList = {}; TimesApps.PopupV2 = function(name, showPopCallback , priority, data) { const dataObj = data || {}; this.id = name; this.lastShownTimeStamp = dataObj.lastShownTimeStamp ? dataObj.lastShownTimeStamp : null; this.showPopCallback = showPopCallback; this.priority = priority; // this.status; this.userActionStatus = null; this.retryDone = 0; this.shown = 0; // this.forceRepeat = dataObj.forceRepeat; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.showPopCallback = function() { return this.showPopCallback(); }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.getDetailsPopUp = function() { return { ...this }; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.onReadyCallback = function(status) { this.ready = status; if (status === 3) { this.setStatus(false); } }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.isReady = function() { return this.ready; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.onShowCallback = function(status) { this.shown = status; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.getStatus = function() { return this.status; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.setStatus = function(status) { this.status = status || false; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.getLastShownTime = function() { return this.lastShownTimeStamp; }; TimesApps.PopupV2.prototype.onUserActionCallback = function(status) { this.userActionStatus = status; }; TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager = (function() { /* 1. Register overlay 2. Decide overlay priority 3. show overlay Register overlay - registerOverlay - return onReadyCallback - all popup's call onReadyCallback to mark status, they are ready to be called - read priority from config - create priority queue Decide overlay priority - read priority queue - call if 1st is ready - if status OK - call - else if not needed to be called, call Next - Show overlay - save state in Localstorage - show - true/false - timestamp Config - popup list - priority for each - show frequency */ const config = { browserStorageKey: 'popUpManagerHigherOrderPopUps', }; const constants = { HRS_IN_DAY: 24, MINS_IN_HR: 60, SEC_IN_MIN: 60, MilliSEC_IN_SEC: 1000, }; const fn = { _docReady(forcefully = false) { (function() { const referrer = document.referrer; try { if(forcefully) { const data1 = JSON.parse( localStorage.getItem(config.browserStorageKey), ); if (data1.actualData && Array.isArray(data1.actualData) && data1.actualData.length > 0 && (TimesApps.PopUpList[data1.actualData[0].name] && TimesApps.PopUpList[data1.actualData[0].name].getDetailsPopUp()?.id === 'interstitial')){ let pageViewsAfterGDPR = parseInt(localStorage.getItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR'), 10); if (!pageViewsAfterGDPR && isNaN(pageViewsAfterGDPR)) { pageViewsAfterGDPR = 0; } localStorage.setItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR', pageViewsAfterGDPR + data1.burninterval); return; } } if (window.localStorage && window.toi_client_side_settings) { if(window.localStorage && localStorage.getItem("ccpaGdprPopupShown") === '1'){ let pageViewsAfterGDPR = parseInt(localStorage.getItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR'), 10); if (!pageViewsAfterGDPR && isNaN(pageViewsAfterGDPR)) { pageViewsAfterGDPR = 0; } localStorage.setItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR', pageViewsAfterGDPR + 1); } let pageViews = localStorage.getItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR') && parseInt(localStorage.getItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR'), 10); let data = JSON.parse( localStorage.getItem(config.browserStorageKey), ); fn._saveAndMakeReady(data, pageViews); if ( data && Date.now() - data.time > data.burntime * constants.SEC_IN_MIN * constants.MilliSEC_IN_SEC ) { localStorage.removeItem(config.browserStorageKey); localStorage.setItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR', 1); pageViews = parseInt(localStorage.getItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR'), 10); data = null; } if (!data) { window.toi_client_side_settings.time = Date.now(); data = window.toi_client_side_settings; data.actualData = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(data.priority)); data.actualData.sort((a, b) => a.priority - b.priority); if (!(localStorage.getItem("autoCcpaGdprPopupShown"))){ data.nextPageView = 1 + data.burninterval; } else { data.nextPageView = 1; } fn._saveAndMakeReady(data, pageViews); } config.burninterval = data.burninterval; config.burntime = data.burntime; config.data = data; if (config.data.actualData && Array.isArray(config.data.actualData) && config.data.actualData.length > 0) { if(config.data.nextPageView - (config.burninterval + 1) === pageViews || forcefully){ if (!forcefully){ document.addEventListener('popup_manager_ready', function(event) { if (!(TimesApps.PopUpList[config.data.actualData[0].name] && config.data.actualData[0].status === 1)) { return fn._docReady(true); } TimesApps.PopUpList[config.data.actualData[0].name].showPopCallback() }); } else { if (!(TimesApps.PopUpList[config.data.actualData[0].name] && config.data.actualData[0].status === 1)) { return fn._docReady(true); } TimesApps.PopUpList[config.data.actualData[0].name].showPopCallback() } } } } } catch(ex){ console.log(ex, "Popup manager Error") } })(); }, _init() { console.log('Pop up manager is initialtized'); if(Array.isArray(window.TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager.regiteredPopup) && window.TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager.regiteredPopup.length > 0){ window.TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager.regiteredPopup.forEach(function(cbfn){ if(typeof cbfn === 'function'){ cbfn() } }) } }, _saveAndMakeReady(data, pageViews) { if(data?.actualData && Array.isArray(data?.actualData) && data.actualData.length > 0 && pageViews && pageViews > 0){ // eslint-disable-next-line guard-for-in, no-restricted-syntax data.actualData.some((singleData, index) => { if (singleData.status === 1) { const shouldRepeat = singleData.forceRepeat || singleData.repeat; if (shouldRepeat) { singleData.priority = data.actualData[data.actualData.length - 1].priority + 1; singleData.status = 0; data.actualData.push(singleData); } data.actualData.shift(); } if(data.actualData && Array.isArray(data.actualData) && data.actualData.length > 0){ singleData = data.actualData[0]; if (data.nextPageView === pageViews) { singleData.status = 1; data.nextPageView = pageViews + data.burninterval + 1; return true; } } }); localStorage.setItem(config.browserStorageKey, JSON.stringify(data)); } }, _registerPopUp(id, callBack) { let callbacks = {}; try{ const popUp = fn._createPopUpObject(id, callBack); if (!popUp) return null; callbacks = { onReadyCallback: fn._onReadyCallback.bind(popUp), onShowCallback: fn._onShowCallback.bind(popUp), onUserActionCallback: popUp.onUserActionCallback, getDetail: fn._getDetails.bind(popUp), }; popUp.callbacks = callbacks; TimesApps.PopUpList[id] = popUp; let data = JSON.parse( localStorage.getItem(config.browserStorageKey), ); let actualData = Array.isArray(data.actualData) && data.actualData.length > 0 ? data.actualData.map((d)=> d.name).sort() : []; let popupList = Object.keys(TimesApps.PopUpList).sort(); if (actualData.join() === popupList.join()){ document.dispatchEvent(TimesApps.popupManagerFullyInitilizedEvent); } } catch (err) {} return callbacks; }, _getDetails(){ return this.getDetailsPopUp(); }, _onReadyCallback(status) { this.onReadyCallback(status); }, _onShowCallback(status) { /* * popup displayed */ debugLogs('*** onShowCallback', this, status); this.onShowCallback(status); fn._setStatusInStorage(this, status); }, _setStatusInStorage(obj, status) { const data = fn._getStatusFromStorage(); const index = fn._getIndex(data.actualData, obj.id); data.actualData[index].lastShownTimeStamp = Date.now(); data.actualData[index].shown = status; data.actualData[index].atPageView = parseInt( localStorage.getItem('pageViewsAfterGDPR'), 10, ) if( data?.actualData && Array.isArray(data?.actualData) && data?.actualData.length){ data.actualData.shift(); fn._setStatusFromStorage(data); } if (status === false) { fn._docReady(true); } }, _getIndex(data, named) { let index = -1; if(data){ Object.keys(data).forEach((key, i) => { if (data[key].name === named) { index = i; } }); } return index; }, _createPopUpObject(id, showCallback = null) { const popUpdata = {}; const data = fn._getStatusFromStorage(); if (!(data && data.actualData)){ return null; } const { priority, lastShownTimeStamp, name } = data.actualData.find( item => item.name === id, ) || {}; if (name){ popUpdata.lastShownTimeStamp = lastShownTimeStamp; return new TimesApps.PopupV2(name, showCallback, priority, popUpdata); } }, _isPopuManagerRunningInSession() { if (localStorage.getItem("pageViewsAfterGDPR") && fn._getStatusFromStorage()) return true; return false; }, _setStatusFromStorage(data) { localStorage.setItem(config.browserStorageKey, JSON.stringify(data)); }, _getStatusFromStorage() { const jsonData = localStorage.getItem(config.browserStorageKey); let data; try { data = JSON.parse(jsonData) || {}; } catch (e) { data = null; //console.log('popupManager, JSON error'); } return data; }, }; fn._docReady(); const regiteredPopup = window.TimesApps.PopUpV2Manager.cmd || []; setTimeout(()=>{ fn._init(); },100) const api = { cmd: { push: function(callback){ if(typeof callback === 'function'){ callback(); } } }, regiteredPopup: regiteredPopup, register(id, showCallback) { return fn._registerPopUp(id, showCallback); }, isPopuMangerRunning() { return fn._isPopuManagerRunningInSession(); }, reloadPopupManager(forcefully) { return fn._docReady(forcefully); }, }; return api; })(); }; </script><script type="text/javascript">function ccaudjs() { var toiId = '2658:3'; var etimesId = '65615:2608'; var etimeschannel = window.Times && window.Times.adsKeys && window.Times.adsKeys.Channel === 'etimes'; var clientId = "cid=" + (etimeschannel ? etimesId : toiId) + "&"; var dsmi="", _fpc="", _optout=""; var cookie = document.cookie.match('(^|;)\s* ' + "_col_ccds" + '\s*=\s*([^;]+)')?.pop() || ''; var fpccookie = document.cookie.match('(^|;)\s* ' + "_col_uuid" + '\s*=\s*([^;]+)')?.pop() || ''; var optoutcookie = document.cookie.match('(^|;)\s* ' + "optout" + '\s*=\s*([^;]+)')?.pop() || ''; if(!!cookie) { dsmi = "dsmi=" + cookie + "&"; } if(!!fpccookie) { _fpc = "fpc=" + fpccookie + "&"; } if(!!optoutcookie) { _optout = "optout=" + optoutcookie + "&"; } var url = "https://ade.clmbtech.com/cde/aef/var=colaud?"+clientId+dsmi+_fpc+_optout+"_u="+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href); var gtmdmp = document.createElement('script'); gtmdmp.type = 'text/javascript'; gtmdmp.async = true; gtmdmp.defer = true; gtmdmp.src = url; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(gtmdmp, s) setTimeout(function(){dumpAudsToLocalStorage()},5000); } function dumpAudsToLocalStorage() { if(typeof localStorage != "undefined" && typeof colaud != "undefined" && colaud.aud != ""){ localStorage.setItem('colaud', colaud.aud); } } setTimeout(function(){ccaudjs()},5000);</script><script> var _mfq = window._mfq || []; _mfq.push(["setVariable", "toi_titan", window.location.href]); !(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { function loadFBEvents(isFBCampaignActive) { if (!isFBCampaignActive) { return; } (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { if (f.fbq) return; n = f.fbq = function() { n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(...arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments); }; if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n; n.push = n; n.loaded = !0; n.version = '2.0'; n.queue = []; t = b.createElement(e); t.async = !0; t.defer = !0; t.src = v; s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s); })(f, b, e, 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js', n, t, s); fbq('init', '593671331875494'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); }; function loadGtagEvents(isGoogleCampaignActive) { if (!isGoogleCampaignActive) { return; } var id = document.getElementById('toi-plus-google-campaign'); if (id) { return; } (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { t = b.createElement(e); t.async = !0; t.defer = !0; t.src = v; t.id = 'toi-plus-google-campaign'; s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s); })(f, b, e, 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074', n, t, s); }; function loadSurvicateJs(allowedSurvicateSections = []){ const section = window.location.pathname.split('/')[1] const isHomePageAllowed = window.location.pathname === '/' && allowedSurvicateSections.includes('homepage') if(allowedSurvicateSections.includes(section) || isHomePageAllowed){ (function(w) { function setAttributes() { var prime_user_status = window.isPrime ? 'paid' : 'free' ; w._sva.setVisitorTraits({ toi_user_subscription_status : prime_user_status }); } if (w._sva && w._sva.setVisitorTraits) { setAttributes(); } else { w.addEventListener("SurvicateReady", setAttributes); } var s = document.createElement('script'); s.src = 'https://survey.survicate.com/workspaces/0be6ae9845d14a7c8ff08a7a00bd9b21/web_surveys.js'; s.async = true; var e = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; e.parentNode.insertBefore(s, e); })(window); } } window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; var TimesApps = window.TimesApps; TimesApps.toiPlusEvents = function(config) { var isConfigAvailable = "toiplus_site_settings" in f && "isFBCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings && "isGoogleCampaignActive" in f.toiplus_site_settings; var isPrimeUser = window.isPrime; var isPrimeUserLayout = window.isPrimeUserLayout; if (isConfigAvailable && !isPrimeUser) { loadGtagEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isGoogleCampaignActive); loadFBEvents(f.toiplus_site_settings.isFBCampaignActive); loadSurvicateJs(f.toiplus_site_settings.allowedSurvicateSections); } else { var JarvisUrl = 'https://jarvis.indiatimes.com/v1/feeds/toi_plus/site_settings/643526e21443833f0c454615?db_env=published'; window.getFromClient(JarvisUrl, function(config){ if (config) { const allowedSectionSuricate = (isPrimeUserLayout) ? config?.allowedSurvicatePrimeSections : config?.allowedSurvicateSections loadGtagEvents(config?.isGoogleCampaignActive); loadFBEvents(config?.isFBCampaignActive); loadSurvicateJs(allowedSectionSuricate); } }) } }; })( window, document, 'script', );</script><script type="text/javascript">window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('set', 'linker', {'domains': ['timesofindia.indiatimes.com', 'm.timesofindia.com']}); gtag('js', new Date());</script><script src="//in.fw-cdn.com/30425084/237574.js" defer="" chat="false" async=""></script><script src="//cdn.mouseflow.com/projects/81baae85-f91c-464e-ac38-15a987752b7a.js" defer="" async=""></script><script>if(document.domain.indexOf('indiatimes.com') >= 0){document.domain = 'indiatimes.com';} if(document.domain.indexOf('timesofindia.com') >= 0){document.domain = 'timesofindia.com';}</script><script type="text/javascript">TimesGDPR=window.TimesGDPR||{};TimesGDPR.common=window.TimesGDPR.common||{};TimesGDPR.common.getParameterByName=function(b,a){if(!a){a=window.location.href}b=b.replace(/[\[\]]/g,"\\$&");var d=new RegExp("[?&]"+b+"(=([^&#]*)|&|#|$)"),c=d.exec(a);if(!c){return null}if(!c[2]){return""}return decodeURIComponent(c[2].replace(/\+/g," "))};TimesGDPR.common.checkIfPopShouldShow=function(){return !(TimesGDPR.common.getParameterByName("frmapp")==="yes"||TimesGDPR.common.getParameterByName("self")==="1")};TimesGDPR.common.consentModule=(function(){var j="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com"; var t=j+"/cookie-policy";var J=j+"/privacy-policy/cookiepolicy/80245266.cms";var L="TOI";var D=function(P){var Q;if(P){Q='<div class="consent-banner wrapper"><p>We use cookies and other tracking technologies to provide services while browsing the Website to show personalise content and targeted ads, analyse site traffic and understand where our audience is coming from in order to improve your browsing experience on our Website. By continuing to use our Website, you consent to the use of these cookies and accept our Privacy terms. If you wish to see more information about how we process your personal data, please read our <a target="_blank" href="'+t+'"> Cookie Policy </a> and <a target="_blank" href="'+J+'"> Privacy Policy</a></p>'; Q+='<a href="javascript://" class="closebtn" id="consent-continue-button">close</a></div>'}else{Q='<div class="consent-banner wrapper"><h2>Accept the updated privacy & cookie policy</h2>';Q+='<div class="column1" id="consent-prompt"><p>We use cookies and other tracking technologies to provide services in line with the preferences you reveal while browsing the Website to show personalize content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic<span id="dots">...</span><span id="more">, and understand where our audience is coming from in order to improve your browsing experience on our Website. By continuing to browse this Website, you consent to the use of these cookies. If you wish to object such processing, please read the instructions described in our'; Q+='<a target="_blank" href="'+t+'"> Cookie Policy </a>';Q+=" /";Q+='<a target="_blank" href="'+J+'"> Privacy Policy</a></span>';Q+='<a id="read-more" href="javascript:void(0);">Read more</a>';Q+="</p></div>";Q+='<div class="column2">';Q+='<ul><li><button id="consent-continue-button" type="button">Accept</button></li>';Q+="</ul></div>";Q+='<div class="personalisedadsBlk checkbox"><input type="checkbox" active checked name="personalisedads" id="personalisedadsCheckBox" value="1">';Q+='<label for="personalisedadsCheckBox">I agree to see customized ads that are tailor-made to my preferences</label></div>'; Q+="</div>"}return Q};var C=function(){var P='<div class="consent-banner wrapper consent-toast-popup"><div class="column1 toastmessage"><p>Our Privacy Policy has been revised. Please review updated ';P+='<a target="_blank" href="'+J+'">Privacy Policy Here</a>';P+='</p></div><button class="close" id="toast-close-button" type="button""></button></div>';return P};var x={consentHTML:function(P){return D(P)},policyUpdateHTML:function(){return C()},policyUpdateCloseButtonId:"toast-close-button",consentBannerClass:"consent-popup",readMoreBtn: "read-more",consentAgreeButtonId:"consent-continue-button",personalisedAdsCheckBoxId:"personalisedadsCheckBox",consentVersionCookieName:"consent_verison",consentVersionCookieVal:"v1",consentVersionCookieAge:365,consentCookieName:"ckns_policyV2",consentCookieVal:"1",consentCookieAge:365,geoContCookieName:"geo_continent",geoCountryCookieName:"geo_country",geoRegionCookieName:"geo_region",geoRegionCookieAge:3,geoContCookieAge:1,optOutCookieName:"optout",optOutCookieDefaultVal:1,optOutAcceptCookieVal:0,optOutCookieAge:365,consentReqCont:["EU"],consentReqCountryRegions:["US_CA"],domainName:"",columbiaCoookie:"_col_uuid",dynamicCssSrc:"",productCode:"toi-web"}; var M={cbfn:[],domReady:false,displayPopupCalled:false,postConsent:false,consentAPIstatus:"",consentAPIretryCount:1};var s={consentAPIUrl:"https://etservices2.indiatimes.com/toi/consent/jsonp",consentAPIinput:{consent:{consents:[{agree:true,created:"",dataPoint:{id:5},text:"",updated:""}],productCode:""},primaryId:""}};var h=function(){var P=document.querySelectorAll("."+x.consentBannerClass);if(P.length>0){P[0].style.display="none"};if (window.localStorage) {window.localStorage.setItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown', '1'); window.location.reload(); }};var E=function(){if(M.domReady&&(typeof x.geoDataAvailable!="undefined")&&!M.displayPopupCalled){M.displayPopupCalled=true; if(x.isEUuser){document.body.className+=" euuser"}if(x.isEUuser&&false){var Q=f(x.consentCookieName);var P=f(x.consentVersionCookieName);if(!Q){K(false);l();}else{if(P!==x.consentVersionCookieVal){K(true);c();i(x.consentVersionCookieName,x.consentVersionCookieVal,x.domainName,x.consentVersionCookieAge)}}}}};var l=function(){document.getElementById(x.consentAgreeButtonId).onclick=O;document.getElementById(x.readMoreBtn).onclick= readMoreHandler;};var c=function(){document.getElementById(x.policyUpdateCloseButtonId).onclick=h};var r=function(){var Q=document.createElement("link"),P=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0]; Q.rel="stylesheet";Q.type="text/css";Q.href=x.dynamicCssSrc;if(typeof G==="function"){if(typeof Q.addEventListener!="undefined"){Q.addEventListener("load",G,false)}else{if(typeof Q.onreadystatechange!="undefined"){Q.onreadystatechange=function(){d(Q,G)}}else{setTimeout(G,100)}}}P.appendChild(Q)};var G=function(){E()};var m=function(){var Q=f(x.geoContCookieName);var T=f(x.geoCountryCookieName);var R=f(x.geoRegionCookieName);if(typeof window.geoinfo=="undefined"&&(!Q||!T||!R)){var S=document.createElement("script"),P=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0]; S.src="https://geoapi.indiatimes.com/?cb";if(typeof e==="function"){if(typeof S.addEventListener!="undefined"){S.addEventListener("load",e,false);S.addEventListener("error",e,false)}else{if(typeof S.onreadystatechange!="undefined"){S.onreadystatechange=function(){d(S,e)}}else{setTimeout(e,100)}}}P.appendChild(S)}else{if(typeof window.geoinfo!="undefined"&&(!Q||!T||!R)){e()}else{B(Q,T,R);if(typeof window.geoinfo==="undefined"){window.geoinfo={};if(Q){window.geoinfo.Continent=Q}if(T){window.geoinfo.CountryCode=T}if(R){window.geoinfo.region_code=R;}}}}};var e=function(Q){if(typeof window.geoinfo!="undefined"&&!!window.geoinfo.Continent){var R=window.geoinfo.Continent.toUpperCase(); var P=window.geoinfo.CountryCode?window.geoinfo.CountryCode.toUpperCase():"";var U=window.geoinfo.region_code?window.geoinfo.region_code.toUpperCase():"";i(x.geoContCookieName,R,"",x.geoContCookieAge);i(x.geoCountryCookieName,P,"",x.geoContCookieAge);i(x.geoRegionCookieName,U,"",x.geoRegionCookieAge);B(R,P,U)}else{var T="EU",S=1/(24*60);}};var B=function(S,X,U){x.geoDataAvailable=true;var R;var Q;if(!Array.prototype.indexOf){R=x.consentReqCont.join(",");Q=x.consentReqCountryRegions.join(",") }else{R=x.consentReqCont;Q=x.consentReqCountryRegions}var T=X+"_"+U;var W=R.indexOf(S.toUpperCase())>-1;var P=Q.indexOf(T.toUpperCase())>-1;if(W||P){if(P){x.consentForCountryRegion=T;x.consentFor="CCPA";if (window.localStorage) { if(window.localStorage.getItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown') !== '1'){i(x.consentCookieName, 1, x.domainName, x.consentCookieAge);} window.localStorage.setItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown', '1'); window.localStorage.setItem('autoCcpaGdprPopupShown', '1')}}else{x.consentForContinent=S;x.consentFor="GDPR"}x.isEUuser=true;window._euuser=true;var Y=f(x.optOutCookieName);var V=f(x.consentCookieName);if(!V&&!Y&&x.consentFor!=="CCPA"){i(x.optOutCookieName,x.optOutCookieDefaultVal,x.domainName,x.optOutCookieAge)}k();if(!!x.dynamicCssSrc){r()}else{E()}}else{if (window.localStorage && !x.isEUuser) {window.localStorage.setItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown', '1'); window.localStorage.setItem('autoCcpaGdprPopupShown', '1')};x.isEUuser=false; k()}};var y=function(){return{isEUuser:TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.isEUuser(),consentGiven:TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.isConsentGiven(),didUserOptOut:TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.didUserOptOut(),userRegion:f(x.geoRegionCookieName),userContinent:f(x.geoContCookieName),userCountry:f(x.geoCountryCookieName)}};var k=function(){if(M.cbfn.length){var P=y();for(var Q=M.cbfn.length-1;Q>=0;Q--){typeof M.cbfn[Q]=="function"&&M.cbfn[Q](P);M.cbfn[Q]=null}}};var readMoreHandler=function(){var dots=document.getElementById("dots"),moreText=document.getElementById("more"),btnText=document.getElementById("read-more");"none"===dots.style.display?(dots.style.display="inline",btnText.innerHTML="Read more",moreText.style.display="none"):(dots.style.display="none",btnText.style.display="none",moreText.style.display="inline")};var O=function(){A()};var i=function(R,U,S,W){if(!!S){var T=";domain="+S }if(!!W){var Q=24*60*60*1000;var V=new Date();V.setTime(V.getTime()+(W*Q));var P=";expires="+V.toUTCString()}document.cookie=R+"="+U+((P)?P:"")+((T)?T:"")+";path=/"};var f=function(P){var Q=new RegExp(P+"=([^;]+)");var R=Q.exec(document.cookie);return(R!=null)?unescape(R[1]):null};var I=function(P){return(P||document.location.host).split(":")[0].split(".").reverse().slice(0,3).reverse().join(".")};var p=function(){return"xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx".replace(/[xy]/g,function(R){var Q=Math.random()*16|0,P=R=="x"?Q:(Q&3|8); return P.toString(16)})};var K=function(T){var U=x.consentFor==="CCPA";var S=!!T?x.policyUpdateHTML():x.consentHTML(U);var Q=x.consentBannerClass;var V=document.querySelectorAll("."+Q);if(V.length){return}var R=document.createElement("div");R.innerHTML=S;R.className=Q+" space";var P=document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0];P.insertBefore(R,P.childNodes[0])};var d=function(P,Q){if(P.readyState==="loaded"||P.readyState==="complete"){Q()}};var g=function(Q){if(typeof x.geoDataAvailable!="undefined"){var P=f(x.geoContCookieName); var R=y();Q(R)}else{M.cbfn.push(Q)}};var q=function(){if(typeof x.isEUuser!="undefined"){return x.isEUuser}return};var v=function(){var P=f(x.consentCookieName);if(!!P){return true}return false};var n=function(){if(x.consentFor!=="CCPA"){var P=f(x.optOutCookieName)?parseInt(f(x.optOutCookieName)):x.optOutCookieDefaultVal;return P!==x.optOutAcceptCookieVal}return false};var H=function(P){if(typeof P!="undefined"&&P.status.toUpperCase()=="SUCCESS"){A();return M.consentAPIstatus=P}else{z()}return M.consentAPIstatus };var b=function(){var P=f(x.consentCookieName);var Q=f("optoutV2");if(P&&Q){i("optoutV2","","",-1);i("optoutV2","",x.domainName,-1);i(x.optOutCookieName,Q,x.domainName,x.optOutCookieAge)}i("ckns_policy","","",-1);i("ckns_policy","",x.domainName,-1)};var a=function(){};var A=function(){var R,Q;var P=document.getElementById(x.personalisedAdsCheckBoxId);if(P!=null&&typeof(P)!="undefined"&&P.checked){R=x.optOutAcceptCookieVal;Q="Accept_with_personalized_ads"}else{Q="Accept_without_personalized_ads"; R=x.optOutCookieDefaultVal}F(x.consentCookieVal,R);if (window.localStorage) { window.localStorage.setItem('ccpaGdprPopupShown', '1'); window.location.reload()}};var N=function(Q){var P;if(Q!=="undefined"&&isNaN(parseInt(Q))){P=(Q===true||Q==="true")?1:0}else{P=Q}return P};var F=function(R,Q){if(typeof R!="undefined"){var P=N(R);i(x.consentCookieName,P,x.domainName,x.consentCookieAge)}if(typeof Q!="undefined"){personalizedConsentInteger=N(Q);if(x.consentFor!=="CCPA"){i(x.optOutCookieName,personalizedConsentInteger,x.domainName,x.optOutCookieAge) }}i(x.consentVersionCookieName,x.consentVersionCookieVal,x.domainName,x.consentVersionCookieAge);h()};var z=function(){if(M.consentAPIretryCount>0){M.consentAPIretryCount--;O()}else{return}};var w=function(){var Q=document.getElementsByClassName("cashowlink");if(!!Q==true){var P;for(P=0;P<Q.length;P++){if(f("geo_country")==="US"&&f("geo_region")==="CA"){Q[P].style.display="inline-block"}else{Q[P].style.display="none"}}}};var o=function(){if(x.isEUuser){document.querySelectorAll("[data-eulink]").forEach(function(R,Q){var P=R.getAttribute("data-eulink"); if(P){R.href=P}})}};var u=function(){x.domainName=I();b();m();if(typeof document.addEventListener!="undefined"){document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){M.domReady=true;E();o()})}else{if(typeof document.attachEvent!="undefined"){document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function(){if(document.readyState==="loaded"||document.readyState==="complete"){M.domReady=true;E();o()}})}else{setTimeout(function(){M.domReady=true;E();o()},1000)}}setTimeout(function(){w()},2000)};return{hidePopup:h,setConsentToCookies:F,agreeButtonClickHandler:O,isConsentGiven:v,didUserOptOut:n,gdprCallback:g,isEUuser:q,start:u} })();TimesGDPR.common.ajax={createRequest:function(){var d;var b=0;var a=["MSXML2.XmlHttp.6.0","MSXML2.XmlHttp.5.0","MSXML2.XmlHttp.4.0","MSXML2.XmlHttp.3.0","MSXML2.XmlHttp.2.0","Microsoft.XmlHttp"];if(typeof XMLHttpRequest!=="undefined"){d=new XMLHttpRequest()}else{for(;b<a.length;b++){try{d=new ActiveXObject(a[b]);break}catch(c){}}}if(!(d&&"withCredentials" in d)&&typeof XDomainRequest!="undefined"){d=new XDomainRequest()}return d},post:function(b,d,f,a,c){var e=this.createRequest();e.open("POST",b,true); if(!(!(e&&"withCredentials" in e)&&typeof XDomainRequest!="undefined")){e.onreadystatechange=function(){var g={};if(e.readyState==4){if(e.status==200){if(e.responseText){try{g=JSON.parse(e.responseText)}catch(h){}}f(g)}else{a()}}}}else{e.onload=function(){var g={};try{g=JSON.parse(e.responseText)}catch(h){}f(g)}}e.onerror=function(){a()};e.send(JSON.stringify(d))}};if(!(typeof window.navigator=="object"&&!!(window.navigator.userAgent)&&window.navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase().indexOf("googlebot")>-1)){TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.start() };</script><script type="text/javascript"> function getCookie(cname) { var name = cname + '='; var ca = document.cookie.split(';'); for (var i = 0; i < ca.length; i++) { var c = ca[i]; while (c.charAt(0) == ' ') { c = c.substring(1); } if (c.indexOf(name) == 0) { return c.substring(name.length, c.length); } } return ''; } function handleInterstitial(tmpl) { var ref = document.referrer; document.cookie="ns=1"; //In incognito mode, first time there is no cookie and user won't get interstitial, so setting a cookie // so that it doesn't return first time in incognito //window.location.host.match(/toispadev/) || //(ref.indexOf('google') > -1) || if ( window.nsShowMaxCount < 1 || window.isPrime || (ref.match(/defaultinterstitial/) && getCookie('nsIstial')) || (ref.match(/defaultinterstitial_indirect/) && getCookie('nsIstial')) || document.cookie === '' || /bot|googlebot|crawler|spider|robot|crawling/i.test(navigator.userAgent) ) { //toiprops.cookie.remove('nsIstial'); document.cookie = 'nsIstial=; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 UTC; domain=.indiatimes.com'; return true; } var intCookieName = tmpl ? 'nsIstial_Cook_Adex' : 'nsIstial_Cook'; var goToInterstitialPage = function() { var queryParams = window.location.search; if(queryParams.indexOf('back=1') == -1){ var backto = window.location.pathname + queryParams; var template = window.location.pathname === '/us'? 'defaultinterstitial_int_us': 'defaultinterstitial'; template = tmpl || template; window.location.replace( 'https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/' + template + '.cms?b=' + backto ); } }; var getCookieExpireDate = function() { var expireAfter = tmpl ? 0.5 : 1; var currentDate = new Date(); var expirationTime = new Date(currentDate.getTime() + expireAfter * 60 * 60 * 1000); var expirationTimeString = expirationTime.toUTCString(); return "; expires=" + expirationTimeString + "; path=/"; } var cookieExpire = 1 || tmpl ? getCookieExpireDate() : '' ; var nsShownCount = parseInt(getCookie(intCookieName), 10) || 0; // if use has been in the same session and refreshed the page more than 10 times // reset the flags if (nsShownCount > 10) { document.cookie = intCookieName + '=null'; nsShownCount = 0; } if (nsShownCount < window.nsShowMaxCount) { if ( !( window.location.href.indexOf('order_id') > -1 && localStorage.getItem('toi_subscription') ) ) { nsShownCount += 1; document.cookie = intCookieName + '=' + nsShownCount + cookieExpire; goToInterstitialPage(); } } else{ nsShownCount += 1; document.cookie = intCookieName + '=' + nsShownCount + cookieExpire; } return; } function initiateWInterstitial(tmpl){ if ( window.nsShowMaxCount > 0 && !window.location.href.match(/TOI_browsernotification/) ) { handleInterstitial(tmpl); } } function highCacheWebInterstitial(){initiateWInterstitial();}</script><script>if(typeof window !== 'undefined') { window._toi_script_promises = {}; var afterAdsScriptArray = []; window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; const { TimesApps } = window; var MwebDomainName = true ? 'https://m.timesofindia.com' : 'https://spmdev.timesofindia.com'; var WebDomainName = true ? 'https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com' : 'https://toidev.indiatimes.com' var urlParams = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search); var personaliseLib = urlParams.get('personaliselib') || 'personaliselib_js'; var grxPushnotificationLib=urlParams.get('grxlib') || 'grxpushnotification_js' TimesApps.loadScriptsOnceAdsReady = () => { // #TODO: Trigger the event for loadScriptsOnceAdsReady_executed and loadScriptsOnceAdsReady_executed_timeout in ga4 if (typeof inpImprovementOverlay !== 'undefined' && inpImprovementOverlay){ inpImprovementOverlay.remove() } var scripts = [] if(!false && !false && !false && !false && !false){ scripts.push('https://static.clmbtech.com/ad/commons/js/2658/toi/colombia_v2.js') } const triggerGA = action => { // TODO: Trigger the event for grxNotTriggered and grxNotTriggered_timeout in ga4 }; function getCookie(name) { var match = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(^| )' + name + '=([^;]+)')); if (match) return match[2]; } var __ssoid = getCookie('ssoid'); if(__ssoid && true && true){ scripts.push(WebDomainName + '/' + personaliseLib + '/minify-1,version-6.cms?channel=toi&enablePerpetual=true') } if(!false && !false && true){ if ( window.TimesGDPR && window.TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.gdprCallback ) { var grxSrc window.TimesGDPR.common.consentModule.gdprCallback((data)=>{ // if(!(data.isEUuser||data.userCountry === 'US')){ if(false){ grxSrc = MwebDomainName + '/' + grxPushnotificationLib + '/minify-1,version-10.cms?fromreact=true' }else{ grxSrc = WebDomainName + '/' + grxPushnotificationLib + '/version-29,minify-1.cms?fromreact=true' } var script = document.createElement('script'); script.type="text/javascript"; script.src = grxSrc; script.async = true; script.defer = true; document.body.appendChild(script); // }else{ // triggerGA('EU_US_User'); // } }) }else{ // triggerGA('Gdpr_consent'); } } else{ // triggerGA('AffiliatePage'); } if(!false && true){ scripts.push(WebDomainName + '/locateservice_js/minify-1,version-14.cms') } scripts.push(WebDomainName + '/aqiscript/minify-1,version-2.cms'); scripts = scripts.concat(afterAdsScriptArray); scripts.forEach(function(url) { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.type="text/javascript"; if(["https://onelinksmartscript.appsflyer.com/onelink-smart-script-latest.js"].includes(url)){ window._toi_script_promises[url] = new Promise(function(resolve,reject){ script.onload = function(){ const script_load_event = new CustomEvent('afterAdsScriptLoaded', {detail:{'url': url}}); window.dispatchEvent(script_load_event); resolve(); } script.onerror = function(){ reject(); } }); } script.src = url; script.async = true; script.defer = true; document.body.appendChild(script); }); } } </script><script type="text/javascript">!function(){window.TimesApps=window.TimesApps||{};let{TimesApps:a}=window;a.ResetFirstFoldScroll=a.ResetFirstFoldScroll||function(){try{let c=document.getElementById("_scrollanchor_"),a=document.getElementById("app")||document.getElementById("App")||document.getElementById("APP");if(a instanceof HTMLElement&&c instanceof HTMLElement&&window){let b=c.getBoundingClientRect();return b.bottom>=(window.innerHeight||document.documentElement.clientHeight)&&b.right<=(window.innerWidth||document.documentElement.clientWidth)&&(a.style.height=b.bottom+100+"px",a.style.overflowY="hidden"),function(){a.style.height="initial",a.style.overflowY="initial"}}}catch(d){}},a.ResetFirstFoldScroll=a.ResetFirstFoldScroll(),a.globalIntersectObserver=a.globalIntersectObserver||function(){if(!("IntersectionObserver"in window))return!1;let a=new IntersectionObserver(b=>{b.forEach(b=>{(b.isIntersecting||b.intersectionRatio>0)&&(b.target&&b.target instanceof Image&&b.target.src!==b.target.dataset.src&&(b.target.src=b.target.dataset.src),a.unobserve(b.target))})},{rootMargin:"100px",threshold:.15});return document.querySelectorAll("img[data-api-prerender]").forEach(b=>a.observe(b)),a},a.globalIntersectObserver=a.globalIntersectObserver()}()</script><script type="text/javascript">!function(e){"use strict";var n=function(n,t,o){var l,r=e.document,i=r.createElement("link");if(t)l=t;else{var a=(r.body||r.getElementsByTagName("head")[0]).childNodes;l=a[a.length-1]}var d=r.styleSheets;i.rel="stylesheet",i.href=n,i.media="only x",l.parentNode.insertBefore(i,t?l:l.nextSibling);var f=function(e){for(var n=i.href,t=d.length;t--;)if(d[t].href===n)return e();setTimeout(function(){f(e)})};return i.onloadcssdefined=f,f(function(){i.media=o||"all"}),i};"undefined"!=typeof module?module.exports=n:e.loadCSS=n}("undefined"!=typeof global?global:this);</script><script src="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/popup_manager_priority.cms" async=""></script><script type="text/javascript"> (function(){ if(false){ var _chunks = ['https://geoapi.indiatimes.com/?cb'] } else { var _chunks = ['https://geoapi.indiatimes.com/?cb','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/bootstrap-modern_es6_module.ef547ef0.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/50886_es6_module.daea1bfe.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/73935_es6_module.8d61b5d9.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/client_es6_module.ab47229d.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/bootstrap.aa1962ea.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/91058.29f01614.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/39916.9af89458.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/73935.33e65894.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/client.6b52f4bc.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/articleshow_v2_desktop_es6_module.195f8e5f.chunk.js','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/articleshow_v2_desktop.e18247d6.chunk.js']; } var _stylechunks = ['https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/11024.32be3220.chunk.css','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/13400.8e2f41b9.chunk.css','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/articleshow_v2_desktop.1a87fd6d.chunk.css','https://assets.toiimg.com/assets/toipArticleshowv2desktop_nonprime.3b9a41a6.chunk.css']; window._delayedResourcesLoaded = false; var _callDelayedResourcesImmediately = false || false || true || false; function loadStateJSON(src, callOnLoad) { fetch(src) .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok'); } return response.json(); }) .then(data => { window.App = data; callOnLoad(); }) .catch(error => { console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error); }); } function loadResources() { if(!true && typeof loadCSS === 'function') { _stylechunks.forEach(function(src) { loadCSS(src); }); } var callOnBrowserIdle = function (callback) { if(callback && typeof callback === 'function'){ if (typeof window.requestIdleCallback === "function") { window.requestIdleCallback(callback); } else { setTimeout(callback,0) } } }; function loadJs(src) { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.type = "text/javascript"; script.src = src; script.async = true; script.defer = true; if(src && src.includes('_es6_module')) { script.type = "module"; } else if(!(src && (src.includes('geoapi')))) { script.noModule = true; } document.body.appendChild(script); } _chunks.forEach(function(src) { setTimeout(function(){ loadJs(src) },0) }); if(typeof window !== 'undefined' && window.TimesApps) { var functionsToCall = ["ResetFirstFoldScroll", "initCLSHandling"]; var functionsToCallWhenIdle = [ "loadGrowthRXsdk", "popupManger2", "showInterstitial", "loadScriptsOnceAdsReady", "loadTpSdk", "toiPlusEvents" ]; if(false) { functionsToCallWhenIdle = [ "loadScriptsOnceAdsReady", ]; } var callTimesAppsFn = function (fnName, useIdleCallback) { if (typeof window.TimesApps[fnName] === "function") { if (useIdleCallback) { callOnBrowserIdle(window.TimesApps[fnName]); } else { window.TimesApps[fnName](); } } }; functionsToCall.forEach(function (fn) { callTimesAppsFn(fn, false); }); functionsToCallWhenIdle.forEach(function (fn) { callTimesAppsFn(fn, true); }); } } window._loadDelayedResources = function(){ // console.log('Document Ready State', document.readyState); if (!_delayedResourcesLoaded && typeof window !== 'undefined') { _delayedResourcesLoaded = true; debugLogs('########## Calling _loadDelayedResources in React App: ', (performance.now()/1000).toFixed(2)+'seconds'); if(true) { loadStateJSON("https://assets.toiimg.com/toi/appstate/articleshow/state-nonprime-web-nonapp-d2f1df9699e86852ffb0f4846a8b3a68.chunk.json", loadResources); } else { loadResources(); } } } if(_callDelayedResourcesImmediately){ // TODO: Trigger the event for delayed load in ga4 window._loadDelayedResources(); } else { // Commented due to ads impacted due to it. // document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { // setTimeout(window._loadDelayedResources, 0); // }); setTimeout(() => { debugLogs('########## Calling _loadDelayedResources via settimeout - fail fallback: ', (performance.now()/1000).toFixed(2)+'seconds'); window._loadDelayedResources(); // TODO: Trigger the event for delayed load in ga4 }, 6000); } })();</script><script async=""> (function() { if (typeof window !== 'undefined') { window._dfpObj = window._dfpObj || {}; var _adShieldObj = {}; window._dfpObj.displayShieldExecuted = false; window._dfpObj.displayBlkrEnabled = null; _adShieldObj.setCookie = function(name, value, minutes) { var date = new Date(); date.setTime(date.getTime() + minutes * 60 * 1000); document.cookie = name + '=' + value + ';expires=' + date.toUTCString() + ';path=/;domain=.' + document.domain; }; _adShieldObj.getCookie = function(cname) { var name = cname + '='; var ca = document.cookie.split(';'); for (var i = 0; i < ca.length; i++) { var c = ca[i]; while (c.charAt(0) == ' ') { c = c.substring(1); } if (c.indexOf(name) == 0) { return c.substring(name.length, c.length); } } return ''; }; window._dfpObj.displayShield = function() { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.type = 'text/javascript'; script.setAttribute('onload', "let l=!1,k=Math.random().toString(),a='html-load.com';window.addEventListener('message',e=>{e.data===k+'_as_res'&&(l=!0)}),window.postMessage(k+'_as_req','*'),new Promise(e=>{let t=Math.random().toString(),r=Math.random().toString();window.addEventListener('message',e=>e.data===t&&window.postMessage(r,'*')),window.addEventListener('message',t=>t.data===r&&e()),window.postMessage(t,'*')}).then(()=>{window.setTimeout(()=>{if(!l){setInterval(()=>document.querySelectorAll('link,style').forEach((e)=>e.remove()),100);let e=atob('RmFpbGVkIHRvIGxvYWQgd2Vic2l0ZSBwcm9wZXJseSBzaW5jZSA')+a+atob('IGlzIGJsb2NrZWQuIFBsZWFzZSBhbGxvdyA')+a;throw alert(e),fetch('https://error-report.com/report?type=loader_light&url='+btoa(location.href)+'&error='+btoa(e),{method:'POST'}).then(e=>e.text()).then(t=>{let r=document.createElement('iframe');r.src='https://report.error-report.com/modal?eventId='+t+'&error='+btoa(e)+'&domain='+a,r.setAttribute('style','width: 100vw; height: 100vh; z-index: 2147483647; position: fixed; left: 0; top: 0;'),document.body.appendChild(r);let o=e=>{'close-error-report'===e.data&&(r.remove(),window.removeEventListener('message',o))};window.addEventListener('message',o)}).catch(e=>{confirm(navigator.language.toLowerCase().startsWith('ko')?decodeURIComponent(escape(atob('7J6Y66q765CcIOyVoOuTnOu4lOuhnSDtlYTthLDroZwg7Ju57Y6Y7J207KeAIOuhnOuUqeyXkCDsi6TtjKjtlZjsmIDsirXri4jri6QuIOyVoOuTnOu4lOuhneydhCDruYTtmZzshLHtmZTtlZwg7ZuEIOybueyCrOydtO2KuOulvCDsnbTsmqntlbTso7zshLjsmpQuICjsnpDshLjtlZwg64K07Jqp7J2AICftmZXsnbgnIOuyhO2KvOydhCDriIzrn6wg7ZmV7J247ZW07KO87IS47JqUKQ'))):atob('VGhpcyBwYWdlIGNvdWxkIG5vdCBiZSBsb2FkZWQgcHJvcGVybHkgZHVlIHRvIGluY29ycmVjdCAvIGJhZCBmaWx0ZXJpbmcgcnVsZShzKSBvZiBhZGJsb2NrZXJzIGluIHVzZS4gUGxlYXNlIGRpc2FibGUgYWxsIGFkYmxvY2tlcnMgdG8gY29udGludWUgdXNpbmcgdGhlIHdlYnNpdGUuIChjbGljayBPSyBpZiB5b3UnZCBsaWtlIHRvIGxlYXJuIG1vcmUp'))?location.href='https://report.error-report.com/modal?eventId=&error='+btoa(e.toString())+'&domain='+a:location.reload()}),Error(e)}},1e3)});", ); script.setAttribute('onerror', "let e=document.getElementById('DEWQnTTgxDI'),t=document.createElement('script');for(let r=0;r<e.attributes.length;r++)t.setAttribute(e.attributes[r].name,e.attributes[r].value);let s=new window.URL(e.src),a=['html-load.com','fb.html-load.com','content-loader.com','fb.content-loader.com'];if(void 0===window.as_retry&&(window.as_retry=0),window.as_retry>=a.length){setInterval(()=>document.querySelectorAll('link,style').forEach((e)=>e.remove()),100);let o=atob('RmFpbGVkIHRvIGxvYWQgd2Vic2l0ZSBwcm9wZXJseSBzaW5jZSA')+a[0]+atob('IGlzIGJsb2NrZWQuIFBsZWFzZSBhbGxvdyA')+a[0];throw alert(o),fetch('https://error-report.com/report?type=loader_light&url='+btoa(location.href)+'&error='+btoa(o),{method:'POST'}).then(e=>e.text()).then(e=>{let r=document.createElement('iframe');r.src='https://report.error-report.com/modal?eventId='+e+'&error='+btoa(o)+'&domain='+a[0],r.setAttribute('style','width: 100vw; height: 100vh; z-index: 2147483647; position: fixed; left: 0; top: 0;'),document.body.appendChild(r);let f=e=>{'close-error-report'===e.data&&(r.remove(),window.removeEventListener('message',f))};window.addEventListener('message',f)}).catch(o=>{let l=navigator.language.toLowerCase().startsWith('ko')?decodeURIComponent(escape(atob('7J6Y66q765CcIOyVoOuTnOu4lOuhnSDtlYTthLDroZwg7Ju57Y6Y7J207KeAIOuhnOuUqeyXkCDsi6TtjKjtlZjsmIDsirXri4jri6QuIOyVoOuTnOu4lOuhneydhCDruYTtmZzshLHtmZTtlZwg7ZuEIOybueyCrOydtO2KuOulvCDsnbTsmqntlbTso7zshLjsmpQuICjsnpDshLjtlZwg64K07Jqp7J2AICftmZXsnbgnIOuyhO2KvOydhCDriIzrn6wg7ZmV7J247ZW07KO87IS47JqUKQ'))):atob('VGhpcyBwYWdlIGNvdWxkIG5vdCBiZSBsb2FkZWQgcHJvcGVybHkgZHVlIHRvIGluY29ycmVjdCAvIGJhZCBmaWx0ZXJpbmcgcnVsZShzKSBvZiBhZGJsb2NrZXJzIGluIHVzZS4gUGxlYXNlIGRpc2FibGUgYWxsIGFkYmxvY2tlcnMgdG8gY29udGludWUgdXNpbmcgdGhlIHdlYnNpdGUuIChjbGljayBPSyBpZiB5b3UnZCBsaWtlIHRvIGxlYXJuIG1vcmUp');confirm(l)?location.href='https://report.error-report.com/modal?eventId=&error='+btoa(o.toString())+'&domain='+a[0]:location.reload()}),Error(o)}s.host=a[window.as_retry++],t.setAttribute('src',s.href),t.setAttribute('as-async','true'),e.setAttribute('id', e.getAttribute('id')+'_'),e.parentNode.insertBefore(t,e),e.remove();", ); script.src = 'https://html-load.com/loader.min.js'; script.data = 'ithc1r8q8e878b8v808e1p8efy81108k3e8iy28y8e808784y8i801m8i8i878y8e387848r8i28y8e878i8g8712z80808y8e31me8i728y8e8bk8j0871pky8b108k8y8e8sf12y81108k8s8e1z89'; script.id = 'DEWQnTTgxDI'; script.setAttribute('data-sdk', '1.0.5'); script.setAttribute('data-cfasync', 'false'); document.head.appendChild(script); } window._dfpObj.prebidAvailable = function() { setTimeout(function() { if ( (window.pbjs && typeof window.pbjs.requestBids === 'function') || (window.PWT && typeof window.PWT.requestBids === 'function') ) return; window.DisplayBlkrDetected('prebidBlocked'); }, 4000); }; window.DisplayBlkrDetected = function(type) { window._dfpObj.displayBlkrEnabled = _adShieldObj.getCookie('displayRender') ? _adShieldObj.getCookie('displayRender') : null; if (type === 'prebidBlocked') window._dfpObj.displayBlkrEnabled = 0; if ( (parseInt(window._dfpObj.displayBlkrEnabled) === 0 || window.prebidBlocked) && !window._dfpObj.displayShieldExecuted ) { _adShieldObj.setCookie('displayRender', 0, 24 * 60 * 30); window._dfpObj.displayShield(); window._dfpObj.displayShieldExecuted = true; } else { window._dfpObj.prebidAvailable(); } }; window.DisplayBlkrDetected('default'); window._dfpObj.displayBlkrRender = true; window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { window.googletag .pubads() .addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { if (window._dfpObj.displayBlkrRender && event.isEmpty) { _adShieldObj.setCookie('displayRender', 0, 24 * 60 * 30); window._dfpObj.displayBlkrRender = false; } if (!event.isEmpty) _adShieldObj.setCookie('displayRender', 1, 24 * 60 * 30); }); }); } })(); </script><noscript> <img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=593671331875494&ev=PageView&noscript=1" /></noscript><noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-P3PMSJN" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org/","@type":"WebPage","name":"3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms"}</script><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","articleBody":"In perhaps the longest cases of ‘digital detention’ in Mumbai by cyber fraudsters posing as law enforcers, a 77-year-old south Mumbai woman was kept under ‘digital custody’ for more than a month. Threatened with arrest in a fake money laundering case, the accused duped her of Rs 3.8 crore, said the police.Neena (name changed), a homemaker, lives with her retired husband (75) in the city while her two children are abroad.Police said Neena first received a WhatsApp call some two months ago. The caller told her the parcel she had sent to Taiwan had been stopped and it contained five passports, a bank card, clothes weighing 4kg, MDMA drugs, and so on. She told the caller she had not sent any parcel to anyone. The caller then said Neena’s Aadhaar card details had been used in the crime and asked her to talk to a Mumbai 'police officer', who told her that her Aadhaar card was linked to a money laundering case which was under investigation, though she denied any involvement in it.“The complainant was then asked to download the Skype app and told that the police officers would talk to her through it. She was ordered not to disconnect and not to tell anyone about the case. A man posing as Anand Rana, an IPS officer, sought details of her bank accounts. Later, another man claiming to be George Mathew, also from the IPS, from the finance department, came on the call and asked her to transfer money into bank accounts given by them so that they could probe the case. They told her the money would be returned to her if found to be ‘clear’,” said a police officer. The accused also sent Neena a fake Mumbai crime branch notice with a police logo.The accused asked the woman to continue her WhatsApp video call 24x7. She switched on the video call on her family computer. “If the complainant disconnected the call or it got disconnected, the accused would call her back and ask her to connect again and keep checking her location,” said a police officer.She was then instructed to go to the bank and transfer money and told if the bank inquired why she needed it, she could tell them that she wanted to buy a property.Gained trustNeena transferred the money and the accused returned Rs 15 lakh into her account, saying it was clear. Returning the money was a smart move because it succeeded in gaining her trust. They then asked her to send more money from her and her husband’s joint accounts. Over a period of time, she transferred Rs 3.8 crore into six bank accounts.The woman eventually suspected something was amiss when she did not get her money back while the accused kept demanding more funds for taxes and to “clear” the money while keeping her under “voluntary surveillance”. She then called her daughter who told her to approach the police. She dialled the 1930 cyber helpline. Investigators have frozen six bank accounts of the accused. A team led by DCP Dutta Nalawade and comprising senior inspector Nandkumar Gopale, inspector Kiran Jadhav and PSI Sachin Trimukhe is probing the case. medium nocaption115687821Similar modus operandi: Drugs, WhatsApp call, online money transferRecently, TOI reported on another ‘digital arrest’ case when a 48-year-old businesswoman based in Delhi-NCR was conned in similar fashion. Vidya (name changed) said her phone rang and the man on the other end introduced himself as a DHL employee in fluent English. A being couriered from Mumbai to Beijing had been intercepted by the “Bombay customs office”, he said, and the parcel contained MDMA.Like Neena, Vidya too said she didn’t even know what MDMA was. “I told the man I had not sent such a package,” she said.The DHL employee said Vidya would still have to come to the customs office in Mumbai to prove her innocence. Wary, she demanded his employee number. “He gave it so confidently that for the first time I started believing this might be a serious situation,” she said.Over the next couple of hours, Vidya spoke to one voice after another. The first claimed to be a constable who gave her a Microsoft Skype ID and password to log in. Behind the constable, an intercom crackled, ‘there is an arrest warrant in her name.’As Vidya panicked, she was directed to a ‘senior police official’ to explain her case. The video flickered on briefly to reveal a police official in uniform sitting at a desk barking orders. After that she only heard a ‘voice’, sometimes it was an official claiming to be from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and other times from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).She was asked to change her ID several times and use a password “centa05” before she spoke to anyone from the ‘authorities’.Instructions were given in a firm but scolding voice: Delete all extra apps from your phone. Take all calls on the speaker phone. Keep your video on, except if you are in the bathroom but even then, the audio should always be on. “They watched me make tea and eat food,” she recalled. Vidya said that the story appears incredulous in hindsight, but at the time, her “brain had shut down”. “I was told that I was part of a criminal gang that had conned over 200 families. To prove my innocence, I would have to show that I had not benefited from the proceeds of the crime,” she said.Vidya was asked to share her bank accounts and investment details. Soon they were “convinced” of her innocence but now they wanted her to “cooperate” with the investigation and help her nab the “gang”. “I thought they were protecting me, and I was helping them catch criminals,” she said.The voice wanted her to give all her money to start the investigation. Vidya was told her money would be returned if she was innocent. Less than 24 hours later — on September 2 — she had begun to liquidate her mutual fund investments.“They asked me to go to the HDFC Bank branch, gave me an ICICI bank account, and make the transfers via RTGS. All the while they kept me on video and kept insisting that this operation was meant to catch criminals within HDFC Bank who are involved in the case. I believed them,” she saidVidya made transfers of over Rs 5 crore on September 4 and 5 to an account in Haryana’s Jhajjar that had barely Rs 1,500 as balance.“After the first tranche was moved, I sensed a change in tone… there was no more talk of investigation. It was replaced by light-hearted banter. It was then that the penny dropped,” she said. She ended the call and called a friend with the belated realisation that she had been duped.She filed a FIR a few days later and found that within a few hours, her money had been moved to multiple other accounts. The police are investigating the case.Two months later, Vidya admitted that the whole episode sounds completely irrational even to her. “They had a way of hypnotising me, getting into my head and getting me to act in a way that seems completely bizarre now.”She faulted the banking system for allowing high-value transfers with such ease. “I told the bank that I needed the money for a major surgery but the fact that I was in the branch for 45 minutes while on Skype video should have set off alarm bells,” she said.'Digital arrests' across cities and statesJust this month, another ‘digital arrest’ scam was reported from Hyderabad when a 73-year-old retired lecturer lost Rs 45.5 lakh.Ch Purshotham Sharma of Malkajgiri said he received a call on November 12 from a person claiming that authorities intercepted a parcel containing banned drugs. The caller alleged that Sharma's Aadhaar number was linked to the parcel, implicating him in a money laundering case. To avoid ‘arrest', the caller provided a contact number for a purported CBI officer in Ahmedabad and instructed Sharma to cooperate.A man posing as a CBI officer appeared in a police uniform during a WhatsApp video call and threatened Sharma with immediate legal action if he failed to comply. The retired lecturer shared his bank account details and transferred money via Google Pay, Paytm, net banking and RTGS to various accounts as directed by the scammers.To appear legitimate, the fraudsters issued fake receipts, supposedly from the Supreme Court and signed by the registrar, as confirmation of the payments.The transactions, made over multiple days, totalled Rs 45.5 lakh. Sharma later realised that he was duped and approached Rachakonda cyber crime police. Based on his complaint, a case was registered under relevant sections of BNS and sections 66(C) and 66(D) of IT Act, which deal with identity theft and cheating by personation.","@type":"NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms","inLanguage":"en","headline":"3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer","keywords":"Digital Arrest Scam,digital arrest,digital,cyber scam,cyber fraud","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-plus/crime/3-digital-arrests-3-8cr-5cr-45l-lost-method-drugs-whatsapp-call-money-transfer/articleshow/115683697.cms","datePublished":"2024-11-26T13:54:00+05:30","dateModified":"2024-11-26T13:56:00+05:30","description":"Crime News: The modus operandi is uncannily similar – drugs found in parcel, Aadhaar details of victim used in crime, video call with fake police officer on Whats","thumbnailUrl":"https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-115690051,width-1280,height-720,imgsize-76134,resizemode-6,overlay-toi_sw,pt-32,y_pad-40/photo.jpg","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Mateen Hafeez,Himanshi Dhawan,Avishek Kumar","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Mateen-Hafeez-16423.cms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Times Of India","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.toiimg.com/photo/msid-92877370/92877370.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/resizemode-4,width-1280,height-720,msid-115690051/115690051.jpg","width":1280,"height":720},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"isPartOf":{"@type":["CreativeWork","Product"],"name":"Times of india","productID":"timesofindia.com:showcase"},"hasPart":{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".paywall"}}</script><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org/","@type":"ViewAction","target":{"type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"android-app://com.toi.reader.activities/toi.index.deeplink/t/a/115683697"}}</script></body></html>

CINXE.COM

3 'digital arrests'. ₹3.8cr, ₹5cr, ₹45L lost. Method: drugs, WhatsApp call, money transfer - Times of India