LUDHIANA: Cyber fraudsters from Assam and Bengal tricked industrialist S.P. Oswal, a Padma Bhushan awardee and chairperson of the $1.1 billion Vardhman Group, out of Rs 7 crore by pretending to be members of a CBI team investigating the misuse of his Aadhaar for passport and financial fraud. Ludhiana Police announced the arrests of two suspects from Guwahati and recovered Rs 5.2 crore from them.
This recovery marks the highest amount seized in a cybercrime case in India, according to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre. Ludhiana Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal reported that the Vardhman Group filed a complaint after Oswal realized he had been deceived into transferring money to two accounts.
The arrested individuals, Atnu Chaudhary and Anand Kumar Chaudhary, were part of a nine-member gang that allegedly convinced Oswal that the CBI had registered a case against him after discovering that his Aadhaar was linked to a parcel sent to Malaysia, containing 58 fake passports and 16 debit cards.
The scheme began with a call from someone posing as a CBI officer in Mumbai. The imposter conducted a video call, dressed in a police uniform, with a CBI logo visible in the background. He sent Oswal a fake “arrest warrant” via WhatsApp, claiming it was sanctioned by the Supreme Court.
Under the pretense of needing funds for bail, the fraudster convinced Oswal to transfer Rs 7 crore to two bank accounts, claiming he was facing a “digital arrest.” After Oswal’s team lodged the complaint, investigators quickly initiated action to freeze the bank accounts involved.
Inspector Jatinder Singh, the SHO of Ludhiana’s cybercrime police station, noted that the gang directed Oswal to transfer Rs 4 crore to one account and deposit Rs 3 crore in three transactions into another. By the time the accounts were frozen, the suspects had already withdrawn Rs 1.7 crore. “We have returned the Rs 5.2 crore that was seized to the complainant,” Singh stated.
