Home » Two Arrested in ₹83 Lakh Scam Targeting Retired Major General

Two Arrested in ₹83 Lakh Scam Targeting Retired Major General

Retired Army Officer Duped in Digital Arrest Scam, ₹83 Lakh Stolen

by Ananya Mehta

The Panchkula police have successfully arrested two individuals from Punjab for their involvement in an elaborate cyber fraud that duped an 85-year-old retired Major General of ₹83 lakh. The incident took place two weeks ago when the victim, Major General Prabodh Chander Puri, was targeted by fraudsters posing as police officers.

According to the victim’s complaint, the scammers contacted him on October 15 and claimed that a phone number registered under his name was being used in a criminal activity in Connaught Place, Delhi. The fraudsters, pretending to be officers from the Delhi Police Cyber Cell and even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), informed the retired officer that he was under “digital arrest” for two days. The scammers demanded a payment of Rs83 lakh, promising that the money would be refunded if the allegations were found to be false.

Believing the scam, Major General Puri transferred the large sum of money, only realizing later that he had been deceived. Upon realizing he had been scammed, the officer filed a complaint, and the cyber crime police station initiated an investigation.

After tracing the stolen funds, the police arrested the two main accused, Mukesh Kumar Singla from Muktsar and Suman Rani from Tilak Nagar, Ludhiana. The police were able to locate them after they withdrew large amounts of the stolen money from ATMs in Punjab. Additionally, the fraudsters used 77 different bank accounts to move the stolen Rs83 lakh, a strategy they may have employed in other cybercrime cases as well.

The investigation revealed that the scammers randomly dialed numbers, asking a series of questions to assess if they could manipulate their targets into revealing their financial details. The duo also used fake images of police stations and police uniforms to lend authenticity to their scam.

Following their arrest, Mukesh Kumar Singla was sent to judicial custody, while Suman Rani was placed under a two-day police remand for further questioning. The police are continuing to investigate how the accused were able to carry out this scam and are checking their involvement in other cybercrimes.

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