Railway official loses Rs 9 lakh online as fraudsters pose as CBI men, present him before 'judge'
Mumbai (PTI): A railway official here lost Rs 9 lakh to cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officers, who told him that he was involved in a money laundering case and then produced him before a "judge" via video call, police said.
The incident occurred on Monday and the victim was kept on a video call by the fraudsters for around 20 hours, an official said.
The 59-year-old victim works as Principal Chief Electrical Engineer (Construction) at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and stays at Colaba in south Mumbai, he said.
"On September 16 morning, the victim received a voice-recorded message on his mobile phone. It said his mobile phone will be blocked within two hours and for any queries he should dial '0' from his number. Accordingly, the victim pressed '0', following which a video call got activated," he said.
The caller introduced himself as a CBI officer and said he wanted to investigate the railway official in a money laundering case as his mobile number was linked to one bank account which was used in the scam, he said.
The victim told the caller that he does not have any connection with any case and he does not have a second mobile number, the official said.
"The caller then told him that a mobile number was registered in his name and that was linked to a bank account used for the Rs 5.8 million money laundering case and there are 247 accounts, which are linked with one Naresh Goyal," he added.
The victim went to his office for work. But the callers asked him to return home stating that CBI officers wanted to investigate him in the case. Accordingly, the victim went home, following which a video call was activated at 2 pm.
"During this time, the fraudsters obtained all the details about the railway official's family background, his finance and property details from him. The accused then told him that he would be produced before the court online and the judge will decide the matter," the police official said.
The video call remained active till 9.30 am on Tuesday, where the caller alerted the victim that he was being produced before the court. The victim was produced before a person posing as a judge, who told him that he found some unauthorised bank transactions from his account, and asked him to provide all the bank details, he added.
The fraudsters asked the victim to go to the bank and deposit Rs 9 lakh into the bank account provided by them. On their instructions, went to his bank and transferred the amount through RTGS, according to him.
But soon after depositing the money, the victim realised that he had been duped. He went to the bank manager with a request to stop the transaction, but it had been completed by them, he said.
He lodged a complaint at the Colaba police station, based on which a case of cyber fraud was registered, the official said, adding that a probe was underway.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
