Cyber fraudsters offer ‘online Pooja’ of Goddess, dupe retired Army Colonel of Rs 5.3 lakh

On June 17, 2025, while checking his Facebook account, he came across a page called Chanchala Mata Trust, which had an advertisement regarding “online Pooja (prayer)” of a Goddess.

He contacted the mobile phone number displayed on the page.

The fraudster who received the call shared “information” about how the online prayers are performed through WhatsApp.

The fraudster also shared a “scanner” along with details of the expenses for the online prayer.

The retired Army officer initially transferred Rs 1,100 through his Google Pay account. But, the fraudster kept demanding more money from him from time to time for the prayer. The fraudsters also assured him they would give him a ring through “Amazon”.

As stated in the FIR, between June 17 and July 9, the complainant transferred Rs 4.82 lakh to the fraudsters and no online prayer was ever performed for him nor was he given any ring. When he tried to get his money back by contacting a “Pay Pal Customer Care number”, the cyber fraudsters made him download a file on his cell phone, after which Rs 48,000 were withdrawn from his bank account without his consent.

He then approached the police and filed a complaint. Senior police inspector Satyajit Admane is investigating the case. Police were probing the mobile and WhatsApp numbers and the bank accounts used by the cyber criminals to cheat the retired Army officer.