Who is Amar Singh Chahal? Former IPS officer attempts suicide after being duped of Rs 8 crore in cyber fraud

Amar Singh Chahal, former IPS officer.

Amar Singh Chahal, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, attempted suicide on Monday. In an alleged note, Chahal wrote that he was duped of Rs 8.1 billion by cyber thugs posing as wealth management consultants. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varun Sharma said that the person was shifted to the hospital in a critical condition. Chahal was one of the accused in the police firing case related to anti-sacrifice protests in Punjab’s Faridkot district in 2015.

In the 12-page note addressed to Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, Chahal claimed that the fraudsters were operating through WhatsApp and Telegram groups and had fake links with reputed banks. The bandits lured investors by promising unusually high returns through stock trading, IPO allocations, OTC trades and so-called “quant funds.” The former civil servant claimed fake dashboards were created to show inflated profits. He also stated that the fraud was highly organized and called on authorities to thoroughly investigate the matter. He added that no one other than the alleged fraudsters were responsible for his decision to harm himself.

A brief information about Chahal’s career

Chahal, a native of Punjab’s Mansa district, had retired as inspector general (IG) after serving in many key positions in the state’s police force. He also served as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Patiala Range and supervised police operations in the area. But his career has been overshadowed by legal troubles linked to a 2015 police firing case. He is among several accused in the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing incidents in 2015, when people protesting the desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book) were shot at, resulting in two deaths.