Former Rajya Sabha member Naresh Gujral, son of former prime minister I.K. Gujral, has allegedly been duped of nearly ₹7.8 crore in a sophisticated cyber fraud in which a scamster impersonated him on WhatsApp and tricked a staff member into transferring funds.
According to information available, the fraudster allegedly created a WhatsApp account using Gujral's photograph and posed as him while communicating with a member of his staff. The impersonator reportedly claimed that Gujral was busy in a meeting and unable to speak directly, but needed urgent financial transactions to be carried out.
Believing the messages to be genuine, the staff member acted on the instructions and transferred substantial amounts through RTGS to bank accounts provided by the accused. The transfers were reportedly made in multiple transactions.
The fraud remained undetected until doubts arose over the authenticity of the messages. The staff member subsequently verified the instructions with Gujral and discovered that he had never issued any such directions.
Following the discovery, immediate steps were taken to report the matter to the national cyber fraud helpline and law enforcement authorities. A formal complaint was lodged, prompting an investigation into the incident.
Sources said the case has now been taken up by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, which is probing the money trail, the bank accounts used in the transactions and the identity of those involved in the fraud. Investigators are also examining whether the accused were part of a larger cybercrime network operating through impersonation and social engineering techniques.
The incident involving Gujral is among the latest high-profile cases highlighting the increasing sophistication of cyber fraud targeting individuals and organisations.
The investigation is underway, and efforts are being made to trace the beneficiaries of the transactions and recover the defrauded amount. No arrests have been reported so far.
