Panchkula: Posing as army capt, fraudster takes away ₹17.5 lakh from naik, wife

Accused helps couple take loan from a bank and later convinces them to transfer the money to his account in order to get subsidy; probe underway, say Chandimandir police

A man, posing as a captain in the Indian Army, allegedly duped an armyman and his wife of ₹17.50 lakh on the pretext of facilitating a loan with a subsidy, police said on Tuesday. The accused has been identified as Sagar Guleria, a resident of Jalandhar, the police said, adding that an FIR was registered against him. The victim, Manpreet Kaur, a resident of Chandimandir Cantt, is wife of an army naik, who is currently stationed in West Bengal.

The FIR mentions that the complainant came to know later that the accused was not a captain and that he was involved in similar crimes against other army personnel.

In her complaint, she mentioned that she was seeking a loan for house construction when she was introduced to Guleria by a colleague of her husband. “The accused, while falsely claiming to be a captain with strong connection in banks, convinced that he could secure a loan with a subsidy,” the complainant stated.

Kaur submitted her documents to the accused while trusting his claims following which the State Bank of India sanctioned a ₹17.50-lakh loan on May 8, 2024 and credited the same to her account that she holds jointly holds with her husband. Subsequently, Guleria allegedly persuaded her husband to transfer the entire loan amount to his account, purportedly to facilitate the subsidy process, the police said. The transfer was made via RTGS after her husband shared the one-time password.

The loan instalments continued to be deducted from the couple’s account and Guleria allegedly refused to return the principal amount despite repeated requests, Manpreet alleged.

As per the FIR, the husband of the complainant came to know that Sagar Guleria was not a captain in the army and is reportedly a fugitive involved in similar crimes against other army personnel. The complaint was initially submitted to the Panchkula deputy commissioner of police (DCP) on February 13. Now, an FIR has been registered by the Chandimandir police station against the accused for cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and criminal intimidation. An investigation is underway, the police added.