TIRUCHY: A retired Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) woman employee in Srirangam lost Rs 1.61 crore in an online scam and the cybercrime police, who registered a case, commenced an investigation on Tuesday.

On November 16, P Devaki (65), a retired BHEL employee residing at Sarathi Nagar in Srirangam received a call in which the caller said was a representative from a courier service.

According to a source, she was told that there was a parcel which has come to to their office and was addressed to Chennai. She was informed that her Aadhar number was mentioned on the parcel.

He further stated that there was a cheating case in which her Aadhaar number was linked. The caller also promised to ‘help’ her by assisting in paying the fine with the Supreme Court and sought her bank details to avoid ‘arrest’ by the central agency.

The caller also sent her an account detail to transfer all her bank balance to the particular account until the case is settled.

Believing the words of the caller, Devaki transferred Rs 1.61 crore that she had in her account on various occasions.

After a few days, when Devaki contacted the particular number, it went out of service. Subsequently, she understood that she was cheated. Later, she approached the Tiruchy cybercrime police and complained. The police registered a case and are investigating.