Malappuram: The Malappuram Cyber Police arrested Albin Johny (34), a native of Thalappalam in Kottayam, for allegedly extorting ₹93 lakh from an Edappal resident staging a fraudulent 'digital arrest'. 

Albin impersonated as an officer of the Mumbai Crime Branch and contacted the victim, threatening her with digital arrest. 

He used multiple phone numbers to call her, claiming that a case had been registered against her in Mumbai. Albin also told her that her phone number was linked to several criminal cases and would soon be disconnected.

Assured that the victim believed the story, the accused contacted her through WhatsApp video call. Dressed as a police officer, he demanded the victim to show her Aadhaar card.

When she complied, he falsely claimed it was proof of her involvement in a case and said an arrest warrant was issued in her name. The accused threatened to take her into custody and convinced her that she had been digitally arrested.  

He claimed the money from the victim would be used to resolve the case. He also claimed that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) would be issued after settling the case. The persistent threats and psychological pressure caused her severe mental distress, ultimately leading her to transfer ₹93 lakh to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused.

The arrest was made following a thorough investigation carried out under the direction of Malappuram District Police Chief R Viswanath and supervised by DCRB DySP V Jayachandran. Station Inspector I C Chitharanjan led the cybercrime investigation, which was executed by a team comprising Sub-Inspectors Abdul Latheef and K V M Najmuddin, ASI Riyaz Babu, and CPOs Krishnendu, Mansoor Ayyoli, Rigil Raj, Vishnu Shankar, and Jayaprakash.