Retd Haryana govt official loses ₹81L in herbal liquid supply fraud

The complainant, a resident of Zirakpur and a retired employee of the Haryana civil aviation department, approached police after filing complaints on the national cybercrime portal

Police registered a case after fraudsters allegedly duped a retired Haryana government employee of ₹81 lakh by luring him into a bulk supply deal for a herbal liquid, promising a large purchase after laboratory testing.

The accused allegedly continued demanding money on different pretexts, including shipment clearances and customs charges. (HT File)

The complainant, a resident of Zirakpur and a retired employee of the Haryana civil aviation department, approached police after filing complaints on the national cybercrime portal.

According to the complaint, the alleged fraud began in September 2024, when Poonam Sharma, proprietor of Sharma Enterprises in Harda, Madhya Pradesh, approached the victim with a proposal involving Manihot Bekum liquid (commercial herbal extract). The accused allegedly asked him to purchase a 300 ml sample for ₹65,000 and courier it to a laboratory scientist in Mumbai for testing.

After the sample reportedly cleared testing, the complainant was asked to place a bulk order for 300 litres at ₹2 lakh per litre. The accused allegedly continued demanding money on different pretexts, including shipment clearances and customs charges.

Poonam Sharma allegedly told the complainant that tax authorities had stopped trucks carrying the consignment at state checkpoints because the shipments lacked sales invoices. She then demanded ₹29 lakh in taxes to secure the release of the goods, the complaint stated.

The victim transferred around ₹80 lakh through net banking and UPI transactions to 11 designated accounts, according to the complaint. Investigators traced ₹29 lakh to HDFC Bank accounts linked to Prem Chand Krishan Kumar and Shri Krishna Trading Company in New Delhi.

The complaint also identified transfers of ₹16 lakh in three transactions to Rajdev Enterprises through Bank of Baroda, ₹17 lakh to Kumar Enterprises through Bank of Maharashtra, ₹11 lakh to RJ Enterprises through UCO Bank and ₹6 lakh to Sachin Enterprises through UCO Bank.

The complainant alleged that the people involved used bank accounts in Delhi and Mumbai, including accounts held in family members’ names, to receive and move the money despite the main business being based in Harda.

Police and banks have frozen and recovered ₹20 lakh from primary and secondary accounts, leaving ₹60 lakh yet to be recovered, according to the complaint.

A case has been registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act. The cybercrime unit is investigating the money trail and the account holders to identify those involved and trace the remaining funds.