Dwarka Resident Duped of ₹30 Lakh in Cyber Fraud; One Arrested
A retired Indian Railways employee residing in Dwarka was duped of ₹30 lakh by an interstate cyber fraud syndicate that impersonated officials from the ATS, NIA, and RBI, the Delhi Police Crime Branch said. One accused person has been arrested in connection with the crime.
The arrested suspect was identified as Sunil Singla, a resident of Fatehabad in Haryana. According to investigators, Singla allegedly operated a bank account through which ₹15 lakh of the cheated funds was routed.
Police stated that the syndicate contacted the Dwarka resident through phone calls and WhatsApp video calls, posing as personnel from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), National Investigation Agency (NIA), and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The callers falsely claimed that the victim was linked to a terror funding and money laundering case connected to the Red Fort blast in Delhi, threatening him with arrest.
The fraudsters sent forged documents over WhatsApp, including purported confidentiality agreements, RBI confirmations, and legalisation bonds. They kept the victim under continuous surveillance through calls and video conferences, pressuring him into disclosing details of his bank accounts, fixed deposits, and other assets.
Under pressure, the victim was made to liquidate his savings and transfer ₹30 lakh through RTGS to bank accounts controlled by the syndicate, police said.
During the investigation, the Crime Branch analysed the banking trail, KYC records, and digital evidence. Officials found that ₹15 lakh of the siphoned amount had been transferred to an account under the name of M/s Shri Balaji Tractor, which was operated by Singla.
Scrutiny of the account revealed suspicious high-value transactions and links to seven other cyber fraud cases registered across different states. Police also discovered that Singla had previously been arrested in another cyber fraud case registered by the IFSO unit of the Delhi Police Special Cell.
The Crime Branch confirmed that ₹12 lakh of the cheated amount has so far been recovered or refunded to the victim. Further investigation is under way to identify and arrest other members of the interstate cyber fraud syndicate.
