Delhi: Retd IFS officer cheated of Rs 11.7 lakh by man posing as pension dept official

“The alleged caller claimed that to incur the benefits of his pension account, the complainant needed to complete some important documentation. The caller then shared a link and asked the complainant to fill in the details,” Surender Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West), said.

The former officer submitted the form, and immediately, a slew of transactions was carried out from his account, the police said. “The money trail revealed that Rs 5 lakh was transferred into an account belonging to Lochan Prasad from Kotmi area of Chhattisgarh. The money was then subsequently transferred to HDFC and DCBL accounts based in Champa district. The money was then withdrawn at Asansol in West Bengal,” Chaudhary said.

The money trail revealed that one of the accounts was used to pay at a jewellery shop in Asansol, the police said. The CCTV footage revealed that the man who withdrew the money from the accounts was the same person who bought the jewellery.

“On November 9, Lochan Prasad was arrested from Champa. He revealed that he was asked to open a Union Bank account by one Vikas Kumar for a commission of Rs 5,000. Kumar was then arrested from the nearby Shakti area,” Chaudhary said.

A 32-year-old Class 8 dropout, Kumar allegedly told the police that he provides mule accounts to one Gandhi Sanday for Rs 10,000 each. According to the police, it was Gandhi who called up the retired officer and bought the jewellery. “Gandhi works for a syndicate based out of Dubai and is still at large,” an officer said.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the former IFS officer, who retired in September, said: “I am usually very vigilant when it comes to sharing bank account details. But it was about my pension. I felt my life’s savings would be affected if I didn’t do as asked. He (who called him) knew everything about me.”

The man though, didn’t take out Rs 11.7 lakh in one go, he added. “Initially, he debited Rs 5.7 lakh from my account. He then issued a DD in my name to my bank and debited Rs 6 lakh. Though the amount was withdrawn from my account, it didn’t reach his, as by then I had informed my bank manager about the matter. The Rs 6 lakh was returned to my account today,” he said.