'He made me speak with Amit Shah...': Pune man loses Rs 4 crore after relative fakes call with 'Home Minister, other govt officials

Representative image

A 53-year-old retired bank employee lost Rs 4 crore after being conned by a relative who made him believe that the Central Government would give him a reward. The relative also used conference calls to make the man believe that he was put in touch with several top officials of the Central Government and the Home Minister Amit Shah himself.

Police said that the accused in the case used to call the man, Suryakant, since 2019 and pretended to have conference calls. The "relative" informed Suryakant that his son worked for the Central government's intelligence department and had a key role in a "special mission".

He also claimed that the Centre would reward them Rs 38 crore for the work but for that, they had to pay a processing fee, fee for the lawyer and also gifts for senior officials. The relative also assured officials that the money would be refunded immediately.

Suryakant gave crores of rupees to various bank accounts between 2020 to 2024 - for which he even borrowed money from his acquaintances, reports said.

"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, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.

When Suryakant approached the relative to ask for money, he was told that their son was on an "important mission abroad". Later, Suryakant realised that he had been defrauded and then proceeded to file 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. They have been identified as Shubham Sanil Prabhale, Sunil Babanrao Prabhale, Omkar Sunil Prabhale, Prashant Rajendra Prabhale and Bhagyashree Sunil Prabhale.

Reports have said that the investigation has now been handed over to the Economic Offences Wing.