English
English
English
Naresh Gujral in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: Textile company owned by former Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral allegedly lost ₹7.8 crore after a fraudster posed as the veteran politician on WhatsApp and instructed company officials to transfer funds.
According to police sources, the scam began when a senior official in the company's finance division received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The display picture on the account was that of Naresh Gujral, the son of former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, making the communication appear genuine.
The alleged fraudster reportedly instructed the company official to transfer approximately ₹1.5 crore via Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) to a specified bank account.
Believing the messages had been sent by Gujral himself, the official carried out the transaction. Over the following four days, three additional transfer requests were made, and the official complied each time.
By the end of the series of transactions, a total of ₹7.8 crore had been transferred to the account allegedly controlled by the fraudster.
Police sources said the unusually large transfers triggered concerns within the company's bank, prompting officials to verify the transactions.
The bank reportedly contacted the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to confirm whether the transfers were authorised. However, the CFO, believing the instructions had originated from Naresh Gujral, approved the transactions.
"The bank called the CFO because it was alarmed by the large-value transfers. However, the CFO apparently assumed the instructions were genuine and permitted the RTGS transactions," a source familiar with the matter said.
The fraud came to light on June 16 when the company official who had been communicating with the WhatsApp account began to suspect something was wrong.
Seeking clarification, the official contacted Diksha Gujral, the daughter of Naresh Gujral, and informed her about the repeated instructions allegedly being issued by her father regarding the transfer of funds.
It was then discovered that Naresh Gujral had never sent any such messages and that an unknown individual had allegedly impersonated him using his photograph and identity.
Police are now investigating the case to trace the fraudster, identify the beneficiary account, and determine how the impersonation was carried out. The incident highlights the growing threat of cybercriminals using social engineering tactics and fake identities to target businesses and financial institutions.
Authorities have urged companies to verify large financial transactions through multiple channels and not rely solely on messaging platforms for payment approvals.
