Bengaluru, Sept. 10 -- In a chilling reminder of the rising menace of cybercrime, former Karnataka BJP MLA Gundappa Vakil has allegedly lost Rs 31 lakh to fraudsters who held him under what they described as a "digital arrest" for nearly a week, staging elaborate courtroom proceedings online with fake police officers, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, and even a "judge".
Police said Vakil, who represented the Aurad constituency in Bidar district, fell victim to the racket between August 12 and 18 after a man posing as a CBI officer contacted him over phone, accusing him of money laundering.
According to investigators, the caller alleged that several bank accounts and debit cards linked to Vakil's name had been recovered dur...