Accused allegedly used fake company documents and bank details to dupe plywood industry association chief during an online steel deal
YAMUNANAGAR | PEN OF DEMOCRACY NEWS DESK
Police in Yamunanagar have arrested a West Bengal resident who allegedly cheated plywood industry association president Jugal Kishore Bihani of ₹16.55 lakh by posing as a senior official of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). The accused, identified as Shyam Maitra, a resident of Chandrapur village in Birbhum district of West Bengal, allegedly used forged company documents, a fake letterhead and fabricated banking details to gain the victim’s confidence.
According to the police spokesperson, the arrest was made by a team of Sadar Yamunanagar police while working under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Kamaldeep Goyal. The case was registered on January 30, 2026, following a complaint by Bihani, who operates a plywood manufacturing unit in Kammi Majra.
Sadar police station in-charge Kamaljeet Singh said Bihani, a resident of Kamla Nagar, had approached police after allegedly losing ₹16.55 lakh in the transaction. Bihani runs a plywood factory under the name Galaxy Plywood Industries in Kammi Majra.
According to the complaint, during the first week of December 2025, Bihani had posted online enquiries on business-to-business portals, including IndiaMART, TradeIndia and Exporters India, regarding the purchase of MS billets. It was during this online search for a supplier that he came into contact with a person identifying himself as Shyam Maitra.
The accused allegedly introduced himself as an Assistant General Manager at a SAIL plant in West Bengal. Police said Maitra also allegedly displayed GST and company-related details on the Exporters India website to make his claims appear genuine and establish credibility with the prospective buyer.
Investigators said the accused allegedly went a step further to convince Bihani that he was dealing with a genuine SAIL representative. He allegedly provided what appeared to be SAIL-branded letterheads, a party code registration form, material specifications, invoices and bank account details.
Believing the representations to be genuine, Bihani allegedly transferred a total of ₹16.55 lakh to the bank account provided by Maitra in separate transactions. The payments were reportedly made in connection with the proposed purchase of MS billets.
However, doubts reportedly arose after the money had been transferred. Bihani subsequently visited the IDBI Bank branch in Yamunanagar to verify the bank account details provided by the alleged supplier. During the verification, he was reportedly informed that SAIL did not maintain an account with the bank as claimed by the accused.
Police further found that the account into which Bihani had transferred the money had already been frozen because of suspected transactions. This raised further concerns regarding the authenticity of the entire transaction and strengthened the suspicion that the complainant had been targeted through an alleged online business fraud.
Following the complaint, police registered the case and began an investigation into the alleged fraud. A special team was constituted to trace and apprehend Maitra.
Investigators examined the available transaction details and other information gathered during the course of the inquiry before tracing the accused to West Bengal. The police team subsequently arrested Maitra from Birbhum district.
As the accused was arrested in another state, he was first produced before a court in Birbhum. Police obtained transit remand, allowing them to bring him to Yamunanagar for further proceedings in the case.
Maitra was subsequently produced before the court in Yamunanagar on Tuesday and was sent to judicial custody.
Police said further investigation into the case is continuing. Investigators are expected to examine the financial transactions, documents allegedly used by the accused and other aspects of the communication between the complainant and the alleged fraudster.
The case also highlights the risks involved in conducting high-value commercial transactions through online business-to-business platforms. In the present case, the alleged fraudster reportedly relied on the identity and branding of a major public-sector steel company to create an impression of legitimacy before seeking payment from the prospective buyer.
The police have attributed the alleged fraud to the accused and the investigation will determine the full extent of the deception, the movement of the money and whether other persons were involved. The recovery and tracing of the allegedly defrauded amount will also form part of the ongoing investigation.
Police officials have advised businesspersons and industrialists to independently verify the identity, designation and banking credentials of individuals claiming to represent major companies before transferring money in connection with commercial transactions.
The arrest was described by the police as an important development in the investigation, particularly because the accused was traced to West Bengal following the registration of the case in Yamunanagar. With the accused now in judicial custody, investigators will continue examining the evidence gathered during the inquiry and the alleged financial trail connected with the ₹16.55 lakh transaction.
The police spokesperson said the investigation was being conducted under the supervision of senior officers and that further facts would emerge as the inquiry progresses.
