Guwahati, Dec 29: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Assam resident Rumi Kalita in connection with a high-value digital arrest scam that allegedly defrauded Ludhiana-based industrialist S P Oswal of more than Rs 7 crore, officials confirmed. The arrest forms part of a wider money laundering investigation into an organised cyber fraud network operating across multiple states.
According to the ED, Kalita played a key role in offering and operating mule accounts that were used to route the cheated money in return for a fixed share. Investigators said funds extracted from victims were swiftly diverted into several such accounts, the credentials of which were allegedly controlled and used by Kalita for a percentage of the proceeds. The agency described her involvement as central to the diversion and layering of the illicit funds.
Kalita was produced before a court and has been remanded to ED custody until January 2, 2026. Officials said evidence gathered during searches indicates she was deeply involved in managing the flow of money generated through the scam. Her arrest followed coordinated search operations at 11 locations across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Assam under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, during which investigators seized digital devices and documents considered incriminating.
The case stems from a sophisticated cyber fraud in which criminals allegedly placed Oswal under a so-called digital arrest by impersonating officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation. Using forged official and judicial documents, the fraudsters are said to have coerced the industrialist into transferring Rs 7 crore into multiple bank accounts. The ED said Rs 5.24 crore of the defrauded amount has since been recovered and returned.
Investigators said the remaining funds were funnelled into mule accounts opened in the names of various individuals and entities, including labourers and delivery personnel, before being withdrawn in cash or diverted further to obscure the money trail. The money laundering probe was initiated on the basis of 10 FIRs registered by different police agencies against the same group of cybercriminals. The ED added that an earlier round of searches conducted on January 31 had also led to the recovery of documents linked to the case, reinforcing the agency’s findings.
