Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): A 36-year-old ASHA worker staged her own kidnapping after being trapped by cyber fraudsters in Jabalpur on Wednesday.
The woman was put under digital arrest, and had been missing for 45 days. She was found by police in Greater Noida, Delhi on June 16.
Nearly two months ago, the woman fell into the trap of cyber criminals who first carried out a "digital arrest" on her. They then convinced her that she had won a lottery of gold and silver jewellery and demanded money for customs clearance.
Believing them, the woman gave about ₹4 lakh in cash and also sold her jewellery to send money to the fraudsters.
Later, they told her that customs had seized the gold and she might be arrested. In fear, she even pawned her relatives’ jewellery to arrange more money.
As her family started asking about the missing money, the woman became mentally stressed and left home on April 27.
Following the fraudsters' instructions, she travelled to Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan for over a month, staying in touch with the criminals.
On June 1, she faked her own kidnapping and made videos asking her family for ransom money. These videos were sent to her family by the cyber criminals through WhatsApp messages, calls, and voice notes, in which they also threatened to harm her.
Frightened, her mother filed a missing report at Bargi police station on May 4. After receiving the videos and threats, the police registered a kidnapping case and launched a serious investigation. Under the guidance of SP Sampat Upadhyay, four police teams were formed and sent to different states.
With the help of technical surveillance, the woman was found in Greater Noida on June 16. During questioning, she admitted that she still believes the fraudsters, who are in jail, will return her jewellery one day.
Additional SP Samar Verma said that the woman has been handed over to her family and is currently undergoing counselling.
The case highlights the dangers of cyber crime and shows how emotional pressure can lead someone to fake a crime against themselves.
Jabalpur police acted quickly and were able to find the woman, though she is still under the influence of the scammers.
