India, Sept. 27 -- On the fated day of August 1, Naresh Malhotra, convalescing after knee surgery, received a landline phone call. He had no idea he was about to be dragged into a nightmare. "[A woman] told me my Aadhaar had been compromised. It was used in opening some bank accounts which were involved in 13,000 money laundering rackets and purchasing arms for the Pulwama terror attack. A person impersonating Mumbai Police came online and asked me to switch to a WhatsApp call for further action," says the 78-year-old. They then sent the Delhi resident an arrest order from 'Mumbai Police' on WhatsApp. What followed was a psychological siege: "They sent me fake court orders, accusing me under counter-terrorism law. They asked me to submit all my assets to an account that belonged to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) until I was cleared of all the charges. They also gave me a certificate of RBI, declaring that once the investigation was over, I would get my assets back," shares the retired banker. So, bit by bit, over a month, Malhotra sold all his shares and assets to transfer Rs.22.92 crore to these cyber criminals. Why did no one warn him? He didn't share his ordeal with anyone. Why? "I signed a confidentiality bond everyday. They threatened saying I was under 24/7 surveillance and if I discussed anything with anyone, my daughters, sons-in-law and four grandkids would be eliminated. They said there were people stationed outside my house and I was being followed wherever I went. Everyday, I was to report to them every two hours between 8am to 8pm," he says. From August 4 through September 4, Malhotra transferred Rs.22.92 crore to 16 bank accounts in 21 visits to the three banks where he had accounts. No bank questioned it! How did it end?Malhotra decided to surrender to the 'Supreme Court of India'. "On September 9, they told me the Mumbai police had been 'compromised' and that the police commissioner was in hospital. On September 16, they told me that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had cleared my assets and the RBI had approved that the Rs.23 crore be transferred back to me. I was asked to deposit Rs.5 crore to start. They sent me an SC order, an order from the Home Ministry and another from RBI. They asked me to transfer the money to a private company in Kolkata," Malhotra recalls. He goes on to add, "I refused to transfer the money to the private company. Their 'CBI head' threatened me, saying police officers were on their way to take me into custody. I said I would give the money to the RBI's general manager in person or surrender to SC until my name was cleared. They asked me to wait for their next call. I was ready to surrender, but the call didn't come. That's when it hit me. I had been scammed!" Malhotra remains calm. "I am purposely taking it as a non-event. The loss is not disturbing me," he says, surrounded by family, friends and media, adding, I am not perturbed."...