After falling victim to an alleged online fraud by cyber criminals to the tune of Rs 8.10 crore, former Inspector General of Police Amar Singh Chahal shot himself in Patiala on Monday and is in a critical condition.
Sources said that Chahal was rushed to Park Hospital with a serious chest injury and is undergoing treatment. A handwritten note recovered from the scene said that he was a victim of an online fraud. The note, written in the form of a letter and addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, alleges that he was defrauded by what he described as a 'very sophisticated group of scamsters'.
Chahal had recently joined a WhatsApp group where members were promised exceptionally high returns on investments. He expressed deep distress over his inability to repay those who had extended financial support to him in good faith.
In a twelve-page note sent by him to his friends and well wishers, which was also addressed to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, he wrote, "With sorrow, pain and despair, I have to bring it to your kind notice that I have been cheated by cyber thugs posing as 'wealth equity advisers' to the tune of Rs 8.10 crore. At the outset, I regret that I did not use due caution while parting with my money. Actually I saw that this group was very active on WhatsApp and Telegram. They were claiming to represent a group that is authorised by the government of India and SEBI (as per them) to educate and help retail investors earn good money from capital markets."
Chahal writes in the note that starting from October 28, 2025, a person posing on behalf of a senior executive of a private bank was giving tips on capital markets every day, explaining the stock market and other factors affecting Indian markets."The details of the beneficiaries to whom money was transferred are given in my diary. Also, the details of amounts I borrowed from different people are there. The details of the bank accounts are also given where money was transferred. This can give a clear picture about the money trail," it stated.
The note reads, "Since this is a very sophisticated group of scamsters, only a dedicated SIT can break the network and bring them to book. If your good self may find it proper, it could even be entrusted to the CBI or a specialized cell in Punjab Police."
"I would be grateful that if any culprits are caught and recoveries effected, some could be got passed on to my family so that they are able to pay the persons from whom I borrowed the money. While advising people to be aware of scamsters, I have myself fallen victim to their sophisticated method. I am left with no choice but to end my life," it adds.
The note further read, "I have used the rifle of my gunman who is not at all at fault. He is a sincere boy. Since I do not have any private weapon, I used to keep this rifle in my almirah for the night while at home."
Senior Superintendent of Police of Patiala Varun Sharma said, "When we received information about the gunshot, police teams rushed to his residence. He was shifted to a private hospital in a critical condition. A detailed investigation is underway. A suicide note has been recovered from him and we are checking the facts."
Chahal is one of the accused in the 2015 Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firing cases in Faridkot.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by additional director general of police L K Yadav had filed a chargesheet in a Faridkot court on February 24, 2023, naming Chahal along with several others including former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (now deceased), his son and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, and five police officers including former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, IGP Paramraj Singh Umranangal, former SSPs Sukhminder Singh Mann and Charanjit Singh Sharma.