Ahmedabad: ‘Black Blood’ Medical Rs 6.7 lakh Scam Targeting Elderly Busted; Bank Manager’s Alert Leads To Arrest
Ahmedabad’s Cyber Crime Branch has apprehended a 35-year-old man involved in an elaborate medical scam that exploited elderly citizens suffering from mobility issues by offering them a fraudulent treatment purportedly to remove “toxic blood” from their bodies.
The arrested individual, identified as Mohammad Amjad from Baran district in Rajasthan, was part of a criminal network that posed as healthcare professionals to deceive vulnerable senior citizens, police officials said. Amjad, who has only studied until Class 6, has confessed during interrogation that the group specifically sought out elderly people living independently with limited physical mobility.
According to investigators, the gang’s modus operandi involved approaching victims at various public locations including hospitals, marketplaces, and religious venues. Once they established rapport with their targets, members falsely identified themselves as doctors, physiotherapists, engineers, and medical assistants.
The fraudsters preyed on seniors dealing with paralysis or difficulty walking, convincing them that their condition stemmed from the presence of “black blood” in their system. They claimed this supposed contaminated blood could be extracted through a specialized procedure, charging victims Rs 7,000 for each ‘drop’ removed during the bogus treatment sessions.
After gaining the trust of elderly individuals, gang members would visit their residences to perform the sham procedure. They drew blood from victims and falsely declared it poisonous, reinforcing the fabricated diagnosis to justify continued treatments and extract more money.
The scam came to light through the vigilance of banking staff at a public sector bank’s Drive-in Road branch. A manager grew suspicious after observing a senior citizen making repeated large withdrawals from a fixed deposit account over a two-day period. Recognizing potential exploitation, bank officials promptly alerted the Cyber Crime Branch.
Law enforcement reviewed surveillance camera footage from the banking facility and spotted a man monitoring the elderly customer’s movements. He was taken into custody for questioning, which subsequently led to unraveling the entire operation. Authorities recovered approximately Rs 6.7 lakh during the investigation.
Police revealed that in this particular case, the victim was initially coerced into withdrawing Rs 4 lakh, followed by an additional Rs 2.7 lakh at a later stage. The gang maintained close surveillance of their victims’ financial transactions to maximize their illegal gains.
Investigators are actively pursuing other members of the criminal network who remain at large. The case highlights the vulnerability of elderly citizens to medical fraud and the importance of vigilance by family members and financial institutions in protecting senior citizens from such exploitation.