India, May 23 -- A professor at a private university in Dehradun allegedly fell prey to digital arrest and lost Rs.18.50 lakh to scammers who posed as officers from Mumbai Police, officials said.

The police registered an FIR against an unidentified persons under sections 308 (6) (extortion by threat of accusation of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, etc) and 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and 66-C and 66-D of the IT Act, at Cantt police station on May 20.

The complainant, Dr Priya Kumari Singh, an assistant professor at UPES Dehradun, said her ordeal began around January end when she received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced hi...