Ex-Army officer among two cheated of Rs 48 lakh in investment frauds

In Gurgaon, two individuals—a 49-year-old retired Army Colonel from Sector 83 and a 75-year-old businessman from DLF Phase IV—have collectively lost ₹48 lakh in separate stock market investment scams. Police have registered two cases of cheating in connection with these incidents.

In the first case, the retired Colonel was approached on January 9 by an individual named Shambhavi Sanya, who claimed to represent a trading platform. She persuaded him to open an Over the Counter (OTC) trading account and transfer funds into various bank accounts under the guise of investments. Between January 13 and 28, he transferred a total of ₹15 lakh. The virtual account showed a balance of ₹48.2 lakh, but when he attempted to withdraw the funds, he was asked to pay a ₹9 lakh service charge. After paying the fee, his withdrawal requests were still denied. He later discovered that the company Sanya claimed to represent did not offer any OTC trading services. A case has been registered at Cyber Manesar police station under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In the second incident, the elderly businessman was defrauded of ₹7 lakh between December 27, 2024, and January 8, 2025. He transferred ₹8 lakh into bank accounts provided by a fraudster for stock investments. Upon attempting to withdraw funds, he received ₹1 lakh, after which his bank account was blocked on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs. A case has been filed at Cyber East police station under Section 318(4) of the BNS.

Gurgaon police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar stated that investigating officers are gathering transaction details and that both cases are currently under investigation.