A 53-year-old retired bank employee was defrauded of Rs 4 crore by his relative, who posed as an intelligence officer and tricked him with a conference call with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other top officials at the Centre.
According to the police, the victim, Suryakant Thorat, was contacted by his relative in 2019 to inform him that his son worked for the central government’s intelligence department and had played a key role in a “special mission.” He then claimed that the central government would reward them with Rs 38 crore for the work, but they had to pay for processing fees, lawyer fees, and gifts for senior officials
The relative also assured Suryakant that the money would be refunded immediately after payment.
To gain his trust, the accused used to call Suryakant and pretend to have conference calls with Mr Shah, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, and other top officials. Believing this, Suryakant gave crores of rupees to various bank accounts between 2020 to 2024 – which he even borrowed money from his acquaintances.
“He (the relative) showed me their son’s ID card, revolver, bank’s message. We never felt distrust towards him. His family used to tell us that he went for training, so he never used to be at home. This is why I felt it is true. Between January 2020 and September 2024, I transferred over Rs 4 crore into different accounts belonging to him. I sold my flats, farm, shop, car, and wife’s jewellery. When that was not enough, I gave money from my PF,” the complainant said.
When Suryakant asked his relative to return the money, they told him their son was on an “important mission abroad”.
Months later, he realised that the whole incident was fabricated and filed a complaint.
“He made me speak with Amit Shah, Ajit Doval, and other officials. They assured me on the conference call that the reward-related work would be completed soon and asked me not to worry. I realised later that the officials could not be on the call. I never thought my family members would stab me in the back,” he said.
The police have filed a case against five people identified as Shubham Sanil Prabhale, Sunil Babanrao Prabhale, Omkar Sunil Prabhale, Prashant Rajendra Prabhale and Bhagyashree Sunil Prabhale. The investigation has now been handed over to the Economic Offenses Wing, officials said.
