Gurugram: It began with a phone call, followed by copies of an ‘FIR’ and an ‘arrest warrant’ shared on WhatsApp. Little did 75-year-old Vinod Chaudhary know that by the end of this ‘money laundering probe’, he would have been duped of Rs 1.78 crore ‘in the name of the law’.
Police in Haryana’s Sonipat have launched a probe into the case of a local resident who alleged that cybercriminals manipulated him and his wife, coerced them into staying at a hotel for two days—while ‘surveilling’ them through his phone camera—and extorted upwards of Rs 1 crore.
According to the FIR, fraudsters directed Chaudhary to transfer the money to “government accounts” for ‘verification’, but said accounts turned out to be fake, set up under fraudulent names. Chaudhary said he transferred Rs 1.78 crore via RTGS to these accounts between 14 and 20 November.
Sub-Inspector Kamal Singh, in charge of the Cyber Cell police station in Sonipat, told The Print that the police registered an FIR Monday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on Chaudhary’s complaint. He confirmed a probe is underway into the matter.
When ThePrint reached him, Chaudhary said he was too distressed to discuss the matter at this time. He, however, said he was a businessman who settled down in Sonipat after retirement.
According to the FIR, accessed by ThePrint, Choudhary said he first received a call from an unknown number on 6 November. The person on the other side claimed to be a police officer and told Chaudhary that his name had cropped up in a money laundering case. Claiming the case file identified him as “Ashok Gupta”, the fraudster shared an FIR number with Chaudhary and told him an arrest warrant had been issued against him.
The copies of the fake FIR and arrest warrant were shared on WhatsApp.
Chaudhary said he was in Faridabad following the death of a relative when he received the call and informed the caller that he would return to Sonipat on 11 November. On 12 November, he received a second phone call during which fraudsters threatened him and sought out his bank account details.
On 13 November, he was asked to share a detailed account of his daily routing in writing—which he did. Between 14 and 20 November, Chaudhary transferred Rs 1.78 crore to several accounts as instructed.
But that did not stop the fraudsters from calling his wife on WhatsApp on 16 November, asking for her bank account details.
The fraudsters then coerced the couple to leave their home due to “security concerns” and stay at a hotel. On 17 November, Chaudhary and his wife checked into a hotel near Sonipat’s Mama Bhanja Chowk. During their stay, they were constantly monitored via video calls by fraudsters.
It was after Chaudhary had been duped of Rs 1.78 crore that he realised those harassing him and his wife were not real cops. He then approached the police Sunday and filed a complaint, said SI Kamal Singh.
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