A retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer has been defrauded of his post-retirement savings of Rs 11.70 lakh by a man impersonating a treasury officer from the Gwalior pension department, Delhi Police reported. The accused used the stolen money to purchase jewellery.
The 61-year-old retired officer from Vasant Enclave lodged a complaint on October 24th, stating that he received a call from a man claiming to be a treasury officer from the Gwalior pension department. The caller informed the officer that he needed to complete some documentation to access the benefits of his pension account and shared a link for the officer to fill in his details.
After submitting the form, the officer’s account was immediately drained, and Rs 5 lakh was transferred to an account linked to Mr. Lochan Prasad from Chhattisgarh. The money was further transferred to various bank accounts in the Champa district and withdrawn in Asansol, West Bengal. The investigation revealed that the funds were used to make purchases at a jewellery shop, captured on CCTV footage, showing the person who withdrew the money buying the jewellery.
On November 9th, Lochan Prasad was arrested in Champa. He revealed that he had opened a Union Bank account under the instruction of one Mr. Vikas Kumar for a commission of Rs 5,000. Kumar was arrested later in the Shakti area. Police also traced Kumar to his shop, and further investigations led to the identification of one Mr. Gandhi Sanday, who allegedly orchestrated the scam. Gandhi, believed to be operating from Dubai, remains at large.
