‘Innocent public falls prey’: Punjab and Haryana High Court denies bail in Rs 50.30 lakh cyber fraud on retired IAS officer

Serious offence

• The petitioner, along with the co-accused, is alleged to have made the complainant a victim of cyber fraud and induced him to pay an amount of Rs 51.30 lakh.
• The petitioner has allegedly committed cyber fraud on the retired IAS on the premise that arrest warrants had been issued against him for the cases of money laundering against him.

• The allegations against the petitioner are serious in nature and make a prima facie case against him.
• There is nothing on record to show that there would be any undue delay in the conclusion of the petitioner’s trial.
• There is an apprehension that the petitioner may abscond or commit similar offences if released on bail.
• Considering the gravity of the allegations, the possible sentence upon conviction, and the facts and circumstances of the case, the court held that the petitioner does not deserve the concession of bail at this stage.

‘Deserves bail’

• Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Salman Ahmed argued that his client has been falsely implicated in the present case and has clean antecedents.
• Ahmed also mentioned that his client has been in custody since May 2025 and was not named in the FIR.
• He further submitted that no money was transferred to his bank account, and there is no material connecting him with the alleged offence.
• Ahmed also highlighted that the investigation has since been completed, and he is not required for further investigation.

• He emphasised that his client deserves bail since the conclusion of the trial is likely to take a considerable time.

Active participant in cyber fraud

• Additional advocate general Neeraj Poswal, on the contrary, argued that the petitioner, along with the co-accused, has caused wrongful loss of Rs 51.30 lakh to his client.
• Poswal also mentioned that the petitioner was an active participant in this cyber fraud.
• It was further submitted by Poswal that there are serious allegations against the petitioner, and the said amount has not yet been recovered.
• Poswal opposed the bail plea, mentioning that the petitioner may commit similiar offence if bail is granted to him.

Impersonated as police officials

• A retired officer, who claimed himself as the victim of cyber fraud, filed a complaint and lodged FIR stating he was duped of Rs 51.30 lakh avictim of cyber fraud.
• The petitioner and other co- accused allegedly impersonated as police officials to deceive the complainant on the pretext of his alleged involvement in laundering cases.
• The petitioner made several calls to the retired IAS and got the amount transferred into different bank accounts.
• The petitioner bought a SIM card to make these phone calls to the complainant.
• The SIM card was registered under the name of a woman who bought the card from another person, who admitted his involvement in the alleged offence.
• The petitioner was arrested in August 2025 with a mobile phone and later admitted his involvement in the crime.
• It was placed on record that the petitioner was working in the sales department of Bandhan Bank and had induced the two co-accused to give their bank account for the purpose of commission of cyber fraud.
• An amount of Rs 17 lakh was allegedly sent to the bank account of one of the other co-accused.
• This co-accused also allegedly disclosed that the duped amount received in his account was withdrawn with the help of the present petitioner, who also received Rs 5 lakh.

‘Digital arrest scam’

In another unrelated case, a 73-year-old resident of Chandigarh was allegedly coerced into transferring Rs 52 lakh after cybercriminals threatened him with arrest in a fictitious case in Mumbai.

The scammers even showed the man a fake courtroom over a video call and told him he would be kept under constant watch because he was a senior citizen.

Acting on his complaint, the cybercrime cell registered an FIR and began tracing the digital trail of the fraudsters. The police officials urged citizens to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious calls.