Former Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral, son of former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, was allegedly cheated of ₹7.8 crore after cyber fraudsters impersonated him on a messaging application and tricked his company’s financial staff into transferring funds, Delhi Police said on Thursday.
Inder Kumar Gujral served as India’s 12th Prime Minister from 1997 to 1998.
According to police, an e-FIR was registered on Tuesday, following which a detailed investigation was launched into the cyber fraud that took place between June 12 and June 16.
Officials said the accused created a fake account on a messaging platform using Naresh Gujral’s display picture and identity to pose as him. The fraudsters then contacted an employee handling financial operations of his company and issued instructions for urgent fund transfers.
Believing the messages to be genuine, the employee carried out four separate Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions over four days to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters, police said.
The total amount transferred through the fraudulent instructions amounted to ₹7.8 crore.
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The scam came to light on June 16 when Gujral’s daughter noticed irregular transactions and verified them with her father. Naresh Gujral subsequently confirmed that he had not authorised any such transfers, after which the family alerted authorities.
Police said this confirmed that the company had fallen victim to an impersonation-based cyber fraud, where digital identity spoofing was used to manipulate internal financial procedures.
Investigators said prompt action helped prevent further losses, with nearly ₹4 crore—around 70 per cent of the defrauded amount—frozen by placing a lien on multiple bank accounts linked to the transactions. Efforts are now underway to recover the remaining funds.
A senior police officer said the money trail is being traced and multiple layers of financial and digital evidence are being examined to identify the individuals behind the operation. Cybercrime teams are also coordinating with banks and service providers to track beneficiary accounts and device footprints used in the scam.
Officials added that such impersonation scams have become increasingly sophisticated, often targeting high-value individuals and companies by exploiting trust-based internal communication systems.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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