Patiala, Dec 22 — Former IPS officer and ex-Punjab Inspector General of Police Amar Singh Chahal allegedly shot himself on Monday using the rifle of his security guard, police said. He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, officials added.
Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma said the incident took place in Patiala and that Chahal was immediately shifted to a hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.
Police said a 12-page note has been recovered from the spot, in which Chahal claimed that he had been duped of ₹8.10 crore by cyber fraudsters posing as wealth management advisors.
According to the note, the fraudsters allegedly operated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups under the name “F-777 DBS Wealth Equity Research Group”, falsely claiming links with DBS Bank and its CEO. Chahal stated that he was lured into investing with promises of unusually high returns through stock trading, IPO allotments, OTC trades and so-called “quantitative funds”.
“With great sorrow, pain and despair, I have to bring to your kind notice that I have been cheated by these cyber thugs posing as wealth equity advisors to the tune of ₹8.10 crore,” Chahal wrote in the note addressed to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav. He expressed regret for not exercising due caution while parting with his money.
The note further alleged that fake dashboards were created to show inflated profits, gradually building trust and prompting repeated investments. Chahal claimed that he was later pressured to reinvest profits and asked to pay hefty “service fees”, “taxes” and other charges to withdraw funds, amounting to several crores.
Despite making all payments through bank transfers, he said withdrawals were never processed. Chahal alleged that the scam was highly organised, involving multiple individuals and bank accounts, and urged authorities to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or hand over the probe to a specialised central agency.
“Since this is a very sophisticated scamsters group, a dedicated SIT can only unearth the network and bring people to book. If found appropriate, the case may even be entrusted to the CBI or a specialised cell of the Punjab Police,” he wrote.
Expressing deep emotional distress and financial ruin, Chahal apologised to his family and colleagues, stating that he felt ashamed and devastated. He also appealed that any recovery made from the alleged fraudsters be passed on to his family to help repay borrowed money.
In the note, Chahal maintained that no one other than the alleged scammers was responsible for his decision and mentioned that he used his gunman’s rifle as he did not possess a weapon himself.
Police said they are investigating both the firing incident and the alleged cyber fraud, and are examining the note, bank transactions and digital evidence.
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