A retired scientist from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly fell victim to a cyber fraud and lost ₹1.29 crore.
The cybercriminals reportedly posed as law enforcement officers to scam the victim, originally from West Bengal. A complaint was filed at the cyber police station a week after the incident.
The victim, Dr Sukdeb Nandi, was so shaken by the incident that he initially did not inform anyone, including his family. Police froze around 75 bank accounts in which the money was transferred.
Dr Nandi, who lives with his family in a government accomodation in the IVRI campus, received a call on WhatsApp on 17th June.
The caller, introducing himself as an Bengaluru City Police officer, informed Nandi that his Aadhaar card was misused to obtain SIM cards involved in crimes like human trafficking and employment scams.
Subsequently, the caller asked Nandi to contact a number belonging to a CBI officer, Daya Nayak.
When the victim dialled the number, another fraudster posing as Nayak told him that some illegal funds have been transferred in his account, which need to be transferred to a safe government account for investigation and assured him that his money would be returned after verification.
