Sumit Singh, a former Indian Army sniper, was arrested in 2024 for posing as a lieutenant colonel and scamming a 30-year-old advocate and her family of Rs 15 lakh. The fraudulent scheme involved fake army documents, phony offer letters, and a military uniform to deceive the victims.
Singh, who was suspended from the army in 2023, met the victim, a practicing advocate at Tis Hazari Court, outside the court on July 24, 2024. He introduced himself as a lieutenant colonel running a recruitment drive for government advocates at the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). Believing his credentials, the advocate shared her personal information with him. Singh then promised her a secure legal position in the military judiciary, initially asking for a modest application fee of Rs 2,680.
As time went on, Singh’s demands grew. He requested payments for “mess expenses,” “uniform charges,” and other alleged formalities. Singh then convinced the victim’s family that he could also help secure a job for her brother as a head clerk in the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (PCDA). He provided fake offer letters and demanded a “donation” of Rs 5 lakh for the job.
In a twisted move, Singh fabricated a story about his father’s death and convinced the victim to provide gold and silver jewelry worth Rs 79,000 for the funeral rites. Additionally, he convinced her to buy a high-end phone worth Rs 1.6 lakh, claiming his own was destroyed in a bomb blast.
From August to October 2024, Singh tricked the victim and her family into transferring multiple sums, totaling Rs 15 lakh. He also emotionally manipulated the advocate, pressuring her for marriage. It wasn’t until the victim realized she had been deceived that she reported the crime to the Gulabi Bagh police station.
Police launched an investigation, which led to the discovery of Singh’s location in Bindapur. After being arrested, Singh confessed to having joined the Indian Army in 2015 but was suspended in April 2023 following a criminal case involving rape and fraud in Lucknow. Struggling financially, Singh began scamming people, initially in Uttar Pradesh, then in Delhi.
Further investigations revealed Singh had previously targeted other victims, including cases in Lucknow and Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. Police recovered various items from him, such as a phone purchased with the stolen money, two fake rubber stamps of the Indian Army, a military uniform, lieutenant colonel rank badges, a wristwatch, and a canteen card he used to deceive his victims. They also recovered three fake offer letters from the Indian Army and a bike bought with the fraudulent funds.
A case has been filed against Singh, and further investigations are underway to uncover additional victims.
