CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has re-registered a major cybercrime case involving the defrauding of a retired high-ranking government official of ₹2.07 crore through a sophisticated “digital arrest” scam. The Special Crimes Branch (SCB) of the CBI in Chandigarh took over the investigation on March 25, 2026, following a direct order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Victim and the Modus Operandi
The complainant, Sukhmander Singh, a resident of Jalandhar, had retired as a Chief Engineer from the Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL) on April 30, 2025. Within days of his retirement, on May 9, 2025, he received a call from an unknown number claiming that an illegal SIM card had been issued in his name and was being used for criminal activities in Mumbai.
The fraudsters escalated the deception by linking Singh to a high-profile ₹538 crore money laundering case involving Naresh Goyal and a bank account at Canara Bank, Mumbai. To isolate and intimidate him, the callers:
- Invoked the National Security Act to prohibit him from sharing details of the “investigation” with anyone.
- Placed him under “digital arrest” by forcing him to keep his phone camera on, effectively monitoring him at home and preventing him from leaving his residence.
- Sent him forged documents, including a fake letter from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), via WhatsApp to build trust.
The ₹2.07 Crore Drain
Under the guise of an “RBI inspection” of his retirement funds, the scammers coerced Singh into transferring his savings to various bank accounts through RTGS and checks between May 13 and June 11, 2025. The victim transferred a total of ₹2.07 crore across ten separate transactions to accounts in ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, and the Bank of Maharashtra.
The fraud was only discovered on June 12, 2025, when the scammers attempted to involve Singh’s wife in the “investigation,” prompting suspicion and the eventual filing of an FIR at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Jalandhar City.
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High Court Intervention
The case was transferred to the CBI by Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi on March 17, 2026. The High Court noted that the scam falls under the “identified cybercrimes” category as per a Suo Moto Writ Petition from the Supreme Court, which mandates CBI intervention for comprehensive, pan-India investigations into digital arrest cases and mule bank account networks.
The CBI has re-registered the case against unknown persons under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 (Cheating), and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Cheating by personation using computer resources). Inspector Gurpreet Singh of the CBI SCB Chandigarh has been appointed as the lead investigating officer
