Contacting the victim of the scam is not a good idea. I understand that since the amount was small, you may have decided to take such a step.
Before you decide to settle with anyone, first make sure that you have the freeze notice copy from the bank.
If the bank is not cooperating, you can lodge a complaint with the bank's nodal officer.
You can get the nodal officer's email via the bank's official website or through Google.
e.g.,
https://sbi.co.in/documents/53471/91871/NODAL+OFFICER+LIST.pdfOnce you have sent a complaint, you will get a reference number. Keep that handy.
If your complaint isn't resolved within 30 days, then you can use the reference number to lodge a complaint with the RBI Ombudsman here:
https://cms.rbi.org.in/cms/indexpage.html#engThe bank is legally bound to give you the notice copy since it's a vital document to prepare your defense. Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees this right.
If there is no instruction for a freeze, then you can lodge a complaint against the bank with RBI Ombudsman for an illegal freeze. In any other case, you will be required to take the help of a lawyer.
Does the victim of fraud have to file a complaint with the police, and then the police go to the bank to block the account, or does the victim go to the bank with a complaint?
The police should by law have a time limit for considering such applications. In order not to have bad statistics, criminal cases are not initiated if the amount of damage is small and the prosecutor sends a notification to everyone that the investigation is over and no criminal case has been initiated.Fraudsters take advantage of this and deceive for small amounts.