Padma Bhushan awardee duped in Rs 7 crore cyber scam, police nab accused

A Rs 7 crore cyber fraud targeting Padma Bhushan awardee and industrialist S P Oswal of the Vardhman Group has drawn attention again as police produced a key accused in court for questioning.

Investigations reveal that the fraudsters first contacted Oswal through Skype , likely pretending to be trusted officials or business associates. Once connected, they instructed him to keep his camera on at all times and avoid talking to anyone else . This isolated him from colleagues and advisors, making it easier for them to manipulate his actions without interruption . Using this setup, they were able to convince him to authorize transactions that transferred money to accounts controlled by the scammers.

Arpit Rathore , a close aide of the main accused Rumi Kalita from Assam, is alleged to have helped carry out the fraud. Rathore reportedly used the bank account of another associate, Atanu Chaudhry from Guwahati, to move the stolen funds , making it harder to trace. Rathore was arrested in May last year and kept in Kapurthala jail . On Friday, he was brought to a Ludhiana court on a production warrant and sent to a two-day police remand for questioning. Police hope to uncover the final destination of the stolen money and the role of each accused.

Satbir Singh, in-charge of Ludhiana Cyber Crime Police Station, said Rathore’s questioning is vital for tracing the network behind the scam. “Understanding how the money was moved and the connections between the accused is key to completing the investigation,” he said.

The case highlights how even high-profile industrialists can fall victim to carefully planned cyber fraud, where scammers use psychological pressure, isolation, and deception to manipulate victims into handing over large sums of money.