Ludhiana: Retired army official kept under digital arrest, duped of ₹35 lakh

Cyber fraudsters posed as CBI officials and coercing him into transferring money into their account while alleging that he had used a bank account for laundering money linked to a private airliner

Cyber criminals posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and police officers allegedly duped an 81-year-old retired army officer of over ₹35.30 lakh, officials said.

Policemen are working with banks to identify the account holders who received the money.

The accused trapped Lieutenant Colonel Parupkar Singh Sibia (retired) of Sarabha Nagar, accusing him of laundering money for a private airline carrier, and put him under a ‘digital arrest’ for one day, coercing him into transferring money into their account, officials mentioned.

The case comes less than four months after Vardhman Group head and Padma Bhushan awardee SP Oswal, 82, was duped of ₹7 crore in a similar manner. Police said the modus operandi used this time is eerily similar to the Oswal case and they suspect the same mastermind is behind the two incidents.

Parupkar Singh Sibia informed the police that he received a series of calls from the accused a few days ago. He said the accused claimed to be CBI representatives.

He said the callers accused him of using a Mumbai-based bank account for laundering money linked to a private airliner. He said the accused sent him fake arrest warrants and warned him against disclosing the matter to anyone.

The complainant said the fraudsters intimidated him by making a video call from what appeared to be a CBI office. Sibia said he was convinced of their legitimacy and transferred the money in multiple transactions to bank accounts provided by the accused. Sibia was told that the money was needed for a forensic examination of his transactions.

The complainant said the fraudsters promised the money would be returned within 72 hours. Throughout the process, the accused kept him under digital surveillance via video calls.

After he found that he had been duped he filed a police complaint. Cybercrime station house officer (SHO) inspector Jatinder Singh said a case was registered under Sections 318(4), and 61(2) the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against unidentified accused. He said the police are working with banks to identify the account holders who received the money.