NEW DELHI: A Ludhiana-based industrialist has fallen victim to a cyber scam, losing Rs 1 crore. The accused impersonated officials from the Delhi Police, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. They sent forged documents, including arrest warrants, court orders freezing the victim’s bank account, and a fabricated CBI letter detailing a non-existent case.

What exactly happened

The victim is Rajneesh Ahuja, 78 from Sarabha Nagar said that he received a call on September 19 from an unknown number and the caller introduced himself as Abhishek Bansal. Bansal claimed to be a Delhi airport official investigating a case involving a parcel sent to Malaysia. He accused Ahuja of sending a parcel containing 16 passports and 58 debit cards to a person named Wangzhang in Malaysia through Global International Courier Company. Ahuja denied these allegations, stating that he had never sent a parcel to Malaysia.

Bansal then suggested that Ahuja’s identity might have been misused to send the parcel. He also informed Ahuja that he would be transferring the case to the Delhi police and that Ahuja could expect a call from a Delhi police official soon.

The victim recounted that at 9:08 AM, he received a call from another number, and the caller identified himself as Sunil Kumar from the Delhi police. The caller informed him that the police had arrested a man named Sanjay Singh, a retired bank officer, who allegedly lured young boys with promises of sending them abroad but would instead hold them captive. Sanjay would then extort money from their families for their release. The caller claimed that Sanjay Singh had collected a total of Rs 38 crores through extortion, which was deposited in Ahuja’s bank account.

The caller further alleged that Sanjay had confessed to paying Ahuja a 10 percent commission for facilitating these transactions. Ahuja denied the accusations, stating that he did not know any Sanjay Kumar. The caller reiterated that Ahuja’s ID proofs might have been misused to open a bank account in his name for extortion purposes. The supposed Delhi cop then urged Rajneesh Ahuja to cooperate with the police investigation, assuring him that he would be declared innocent after the inquiry.

The fraudsters sent forged documents, including a fake arrest warrant in the complainant’s name, a fake court order freezing Rajneesh Ahuja’s bank accounts, and a fabricated CBI document bearing a fake stamp. Believing these documents to be genuine, the victim became frightened.

The accused threatened Ahuja, demanding a security deposit of Rs 86 lakh to avoid arrest. They assured Ahuja that the money would be returned within three hours once the claims were verified. The victim was also instructed not to turn off their mobile phone. Ahuja made the payment into the bank account provided by the accused. However, minutes later, the accused called again, demanding an additional Rs 15 lakh, which Ahuja transferred to the given account.

By 6 PM, Ahuja received a WhatsApp call from another number. The caller, identifying themselves as Anil Kumar from the CBI, informed Ahuja that the investigation had cleared them of any wrongdoing. They promised to have the arrest warrants canceled and Ahuja’s name removed from the FIR. Additionally, the caller assured that the victim’s money would be returned to their bank account by 12 noon on September 20.

Despite these promises, Ahuja neither received their money nor could reach any of the callers. After realising that he had been scammed, Ahuja filed a complaint at Cyber Crime police station.

Agencies

Agencies