Army Deserter Arrested for Allegedly Cheating Chandimandir Soldier of ₹10 Lakh as AGIF Clerk
An Army deserter has been arrested in Panchkula for allegedly cheating a serving soldier posted at Chandimandir Cantonment of ₹10 lakh by posing as an Army personnel and an AGIF clerk and promising a large subsidy on a personal loan, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Sagar Guleria, a resident of Jalandhar in Punjab, was arrested in a case registered at Chandimandir Police Station. Police said Guleria has 12 similar financial fraud cases against him in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. He has also been declared a deserter from the Army.
According to Tajinder Pal Singh, in-charge of the Economic Offences Wing-1, the complainant, a serving soldier, filed a complaint on May 1. He told investigators that Guleria approached him near Joshi Enclave on February 6 and introduced himself as an Army man and AGIF clerk. Guleria allegedly told him that he could help secure a subsidy of ₹7 lakh on a ₹10-lakh loan and ₹15 lakh on a ₹20-lakh loan.
Police said the accused then collected the soldier’s Aadhaar card, PAN card, canteen card, salary slip and other documents through WhatsApp. He also allegedly persuaded the complainant to share one-time passwords, saying they were needed to complete the online loan process. On February 9, a loan of ₹10 lakh was credited to the soldier’s SBI salary account.
Investigators said Guleria later obtained the complainant’s YONO login details and another OTP, after which the entire amount was transferred to bank accounts linked to his associates. He initially assured the soldier that the money would be returned, but later began avoiding him.
DCP Panchkula Aditi Singh said police secured bank records related to the transactions during the probe. After his arrest, Guleria was produced before a court and remanded in police custody for one day. Police said efforts are continuing to recover the cheated amount and to identify the wider network involved in the transfers.
