Barely two weeks after a retired colonel lost ₹3.41 crore in a digital arrest scam, a similar cybercrime has come to light involving another senior ex-army officer from Chandigarh. Retired Colonel Harmohinder Singh Puri, aged 91, has alleged that he was defrauded of ₹36 lakh by conmen posing as officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch.
According to the FIR registered with the Cybercrime Cell of Chandigarh Police, the incident took place on November 10, 2024, when Puri received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. The caller began by inquiring if he held an account with Canara Bank. Upon Puri’s denial, the caller spun a story claiming that a fake bank account had been opened in his name in Maharashtra, allegedly linked to money laundering operations involving Jet Airways’ former chairman Naresh Goyal.
To bolster their claims, the fraudsters told Puri that during a raid at Goyal’s residence, multiple Aadhaar cards were recovered — including his. The caller claimed that the fake Canara Bank account was used to transfer illicit funds to Goyal and warned that an arrest warrant had been issued in Puri’s name.
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Exploiting fear and confusion, the scammers coerced Puri into remaining constantly in front of his mobile phone camera, under the pretext of being under “surveillance.” Under intense psychological pressure and fearing arrest, the nonagenarian was manipulated into revealing his bank account details. He subsequently transferred ₹36 lakh via RTGS from his State Bank of India account to an ICICI Bank account, even sending a copy of the receipt to the fraudsters via WhatsApp.
The accused continued to pressure Puri to transfer an additional ₹32.5 lakh from his Union Bank of India account and post office savings. However, before those transactions could go through, Puri’s son, Pushpinder Singh — who had just returned from Australia — sensed something was wrong. He visited the Sector 34 Police Station to verify the caller’s identity. Police officials confirmed the call was part of a cyber scam and immediately referred the case to the Cybercrime Police Station.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the fraudsters had concocted a detailed and convincing narrative to emotionally manipulate the victim, linking him to a fabricated money laundering case. The FIR has been registered under sections 319(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against unidentified accused.
Chandigarh Police has urged citizens, particularly senior citizens, to remain vigilant and not fall prey to calls impersonating law enforcement or government officials. Authorities also emphasized the importance of verifying claims independently before taking any financial actions.