Guwahati police arrest man over Rs 11.5 crore fake Army supply fraud

Guwahati's Panbazar police have arrested a 30-year-old man from Siliguri in West Bengal in connection with an alleged Rs 11.50 crore fraud that used forged Indian Army supply orders, Pratidin Time reported on Monday.

Police identified the accused as Harsh Agarwal and described him as the alleged mastermind of the scheme. The complainant is a Guwahati firm, M/s Global Traders. Police announced the arrest on November 9.

How the alleged fraud worked

According to police, the accused introduced his brother, Ayush Agarwal, to the complainant as a distant relative who handled Army supply contracts. Building on an existing business relationship with the firm, the pair allegedly won its trust and then used fake Army supply orders, impersonation of Army officers and fabricated financial papers to draw money from it.

Police put the total value of the fraudulent transactions at Rs 11,50,56,180.

Inter-state operation

A team led by Inspector Sankar Jyoti Nath, Officer-in-Charge of Panbazar Police Station, traced the accused to Siliguri and detained him there. Police said the case was cracked through analysis of financial transactions, digital evidence and intelligence gathered over the course of the investigation.

The case has been registered as Panbazar PS Case No. 214/2026 under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Information Technology Act.

Money frozen, search continues

More than Rs 2 crore has been frozen in various bank accounts, police said. Investigators are working to trace the rest of the money, identify others who benefited and arrest the remaining accused.

The allegations are those of the police and have not been tested in court. No statement from the accused was available.

A word of caution

Fake defence supply orders and people posing as Army officers are a recurring fraud pattern. Businesses offered supply contracts should verify orders directly with the unit or the official procurement channel before releasing goods or money. Warning signs include orders that arrive through a middleman rather than the unit itself, pressure to pay advances or deposits quickly, and documents that cannot be checked against an official source.

Anyone who suspects they have been targeted by such a scheme can report it at the nearest police station, or call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in if the fraud involved online payments.