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Patiala: A day after the police registered a case against unidentified persons for allegedly cheating retired IG Amar Singh Chahal of ₹8.10 crore, investigations have revealed that the fraudsters had targeted and duped several other retired government officials using similar tactics.

According to investigating agencies, the accused were active participants in multiple WhatsApp and Telegram groups comprising retired officers, where they posed as successful investors and financial professionals to build credibility. Chahal, in a note recovered by the police, stated that he was persuaded to invest after observing other group members apparently earning high returns.

Investigators have established that the key accused concealed his real identity and introduced himself to Chahal as “Rajat Verma,” the Managing Director and CEO of a private bank, using a fake name and forged credentials. Preliminary findings indicate that Chahal had no knowledge of the suspect’s true identity, and the name used by the fraudster has also turned out to be fictitious.

Sources said the police have now zeroed in on the suspect and established his actual identity, though no arrest has been made so far. Adding to the deception, every morning around 9 am, a woman identifying herself as “Meena Bhatt”, allegedly an assistant to the fake banker, would send messages to group members, urging them to invest larger sums for assured profits.

The case took a grim turn after Chahal allegedly shot himself, later claiming the fraud had financially ruined him. Meanwhile, a private hospital in Patiala, where the retired IG underwent emergency surgery, issued a medical bulletin on Wednesday evening stating that his life had been saved.

Doctors said Chahal was brought in with a self-inflicted gunshot injury, with the bullet entering from the left side of the chest and exiting from the back, causing massive blood loss. During surgery, multiple rib fractures and a significant tear in the left lung were detected, with the bullet having passed dangerously close to the heart. The hospital said the patient is now stable, off ventilator support, on a soft diet, and is expected to recover within a week. Police are continuing to probe the wider network behind the scam, suspecting that more retired officials may have been targeted through the same social media investment groups.