Pahalgam terror link, fake ATS officers dupe retired banker of ₹3.83 crore

MUMBAI: A retired bank officer was told that a SIM card issued in his name had been used in the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and that ₹7 crore had been routed through a bank account opened in his name to fund terrorists

MUMBAI: A retired bank officer was told that a SIM card issued in his name had been used in the 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and that ₹7 crore had been routed through a bank account opened in his name to fund terrorists. Terrified that he could be arrested, the 64-year-old handed over details of his savings, investments, shares and mutual funds to men posing as Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers — and eventually transferred ₹3.83 crore to accounts specified by them.

The Juhu resident, a former operations manager with HDFC Bank, remained on WhatsApp video calls with the accused for 10 days, following their instructions as they kept him under what they called a “digital arrest”. He realised he had been duped only after a bank manager told him there was no such legal procedure as a digital arrest.

The elaborate deception began on August 7, when the retired banker received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an ATS officer posted at the agency’s headquarters in Colaba and even provided a purported batch code and case number.

The caller told him that the ATS was conducting a “very sensitive and secret investigation” and warned him against discussing the matter with anyone. He was threatened with arrest if he disclosed details of the case.

The caller then sent him several documents over WhatsApp, including a purported arrest warrant in his name. He told the complainant that a SIM card obtained in his name had been used in the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.

When the retired banker denied ever obtaining such a SIM card or having any connection with the attack, he was told to speak to another person on WhatsApp who was introduced as a senior ATS officer from Lucknow.

That caller, who identified himself as “IG Vikram Singh”, escalated the threat. He allegedly told the complainant that an account had been opened in his name in Jammu and Kashmir and that around ₹7 crore had been illegally transferred into it. The money, he claimed, had been used by terrorists.

The accused then told the retired banker that he could avoid arrest if he cooperated with the investigation and obtained a “non-involvement certificate”.

What followed was a sustained pressure campaign. The complainant was kept on a WhatsApp video call, asked to share his location and instructed not to speak to anyone about the investigation. The callers demanded details of his bank accounts, deposits, investments, shares and mutual funds.

They also sent him a letter purportedly issued by the Reserve Bank of India, asking for details of his financial holdings. The callers then told him that, as a security measure, he would have to transfer his savings and investments to bank accounts provided by them. The money, they claimed, would be verified as part of the investigation and returned to him.

Believing the claims, the complainant made four online transactions between August 7 and August 17, transferring around ₹3.83 crore. But the promised return of his money never came. Instead, whenever he asked about the funds, the callers demanded more money, claiming they were coordinating with their “accounts department”.

It was this repeated demand for money that eventually made the retired banker suspicious. He approached a bank branch manager, who told him that there was no such thing as a “digital arrest” and that he had been cheated. On the bank official’s advice, the complainant called the cybercrime helpline 1930 and lodged a complaint.

The West Zone Cyber police have registered an FIR against unidentified persons for offences including personation, cheating and forgery. The investigation is underway.