Patiala, Dec 22 : Former IPS officer Amar Singh Chahal allegedly shot himself here on Monday and in a purported note, he claimed that he had been duped of Rs 8.10 crore by cyber thugs who posed as wealth management advisors.
He was shifted to the hospital in a critical condition, Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma said.
Chalal was one of the accused in the 2015 police firing cases related to anti-sacrilege protests in Faridkot.
According to police, a note has been recovered from the scene, which shows that he was a victim of some financial fraud, police said.
In the note addressed to Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, Chahal alleged that fraudsters operated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups under the name ‘F-777 DBS Wealth Equity Research Group’, falsely claiming links with the DBS Bank and its CEO.
The group lured investors by promising unusually high returns through stock trading, IPO allotments, OTC trades and so-called “quantitative funds”, as per the note.
According to the note, fake dashboards were created to show inflated profits, gradually building confidence among investors and prompting them to deposit large sums.
Chahal claimed he was repeatedly pressured to reinvest profits and later asked to pay hefty “service fees,” “taxes,” and additional charges to withdraw his money, amounting to several crores.
The former police officer stated that despite making all payments through bank transfers, withdrawals were never processed.
He alleged that the scam was highly organised, involving multiple bank accounts and individuals, and urged authorities to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or hand over the case to a specialised central agency to trace the money trail.
Expressing deep distress, financial ruin, and emotional trauma, Chahal wrote that he felt devastated and ashamed, apologising to his family and colleagues.
He maintained that, except for the alleged scammers, no one else was responsible for his decision.
Police said they are probing the firing incident and the alleged fraud, examining the note, bank transactions, and digital evidence. (PTI)
