An 82-year-old retired army officer, Colonel Dalip Singh, and his 74-year-old wife, Ravinder Kaur Bajwa, residents of Sector 2-A in Chandigarh, fell victim to a sophisticated scam, losing ₹3.41 crore to fraudsters who posed as officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The elaborate scheme, executed over ten days, involved intimidation, psychological manipulation, and threats of legal action, ultimately coercing the elderly couple into transferring their life savings to the scammers.
The fraudulent scheme began on March 18, when Colonel Bajwa received a call from an unknown number. The caller falsely accused him of involvement in a money laundering case, alleging that he had sold his bank account details to Naresh Goyal, the jailed owner of Jet Airways, for ₹5 lakh and had received an additional ₹20 lakh as commission for laundering ₹2 crore.
To lend credibility to their claims, the scammers displayed his ATM card over a video call and claimed they were investigating a ₹5,038-crore scam. They even sent him photographs of 24 alleged victims, asserting that one had committed suicide and that a whistleblower, along with their entire family, had been murdered by Goyal.
Further intensifying the deception, the fraudsters informed Bajwa that the Supreme Court had issued an arrest warrant against him. When he expressed his inability to travel to Mumbai for questioning due to his advanced age, they assured him that an online inquiry could be conducted instead.
During this supposed inquiry, he was asked 15 questions related to Naresh Goyal’s case. To further pressure him into compliance, the scammers threatened to expose his alleged involvement in newspapers, warning that his reputation would be ruined if he failed to cooperate.
The fraudsters then placed Bajwa and his wife under what they termed a “digital arrest,” instructing them to keep their phones switched on at all times and prohibiting them from contacting anyone.
This psychological captivity lasted from March 18 to March 27. During this period, on March 20, they coerced Bajwa into revealing his bank account balance, which amounted to ₹8.80 lakh. Exploiting his fear, they used fabricated arrest warrants and account-freezing notices shared over WhatsApp to pressure him into transferring funds via real-time gross settlement (RTGS).
Believing their threats to be real, Bajwa made multiple transfers—₹8 lakh on March 20, ₹60 lakh on March 21, ₹80 lakh on March 24, ₹88 lakh on March 25, and ₹1.05 crore on March 27—completely depleting his bank account.
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The scammers did not stop there. They then targeted Bajwa’s wife, convincing him to liquidate her fixed deposits (FDs) under the pretense of “closing the case.”
To maintain their hold over the couple, the fraudsters insisted that Bajwa keep his video call active 24 hours a day. If the call was interrupted for any reason, they would immediately call him back, demanding that he turn it back on. They also impersonated Mumbai Cyber Crime officials, calling him from multiple phone numbers and repeatedly reaching out to his family members.
It was only after suffering these extensive financial losses that Bajwa realised he had been scammed. He promptly approached the cybercrime police station in Chandigarh and lodged a formal complaint.
As a result, an FIR was registered on April 1 under Sections 308, 319(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Chandigarh Police have since managed to recover ₹6 lakh from the stolen funds.
Authorities have issued warnings to residents, urging them to remain vigilant against such scams. They have advised the public not to share personal or financial details over the phone with unknown callers, to verify any legal notices with the appropriate authorities, and to report any suspicious calls to the cybercrime helpline at 1930.
Also Read: Kolkata doctor duped of ₹80 lakh in digital arrest scam
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