Israeli national duped of Rs 2 lakh in Bengaluru by cybercriminals posing as FedEx staff, Mumbai cop
Bengaluru: A 39-year-old Israeli national, residing on Millers Road, fell victim to a cyber fraud, losing nearly Rs 2 lakh after being deceived by a group of individuals posing as FedEx employees and Mumbai police officers.
The victim, an entrepreneur in the performance and health intelligence sector, received a call on August 27 from an individual who introduced himself as Akash, a FedEx Mumbai executive. Akash claimed that a parcel sent under the Israeli national's name to Iran contained suspicious items, including expired passports, a laptop, a pen drive, four credit cards, 3kg of toys, and 420 grams of MDMA.
The fraudsters alleged that a case had been registered against the entrepreneur at the Mumbai Cybercrime Station. The call was then transferred to a supposed senior police officer who informed the victim that his PAN was being used to open bank accounts involved in money laundering and that he would be arrested soon.
The victim was instructed to stay home and avoid informing anyone, including his family and the police.
During a subsequent Skype call, the scammer, dressed in a khaki uniform and displaying an ID card, claimed that a virtual investigation had been initiated. The victim was then coerced into transferring Rs 98,888 twice to two different accounts under the pretense that the money was required for verification by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and would be returned afterward.
When the fraudsters demanded more money, the entrepreneur grew suspicious and refused to comply, leading the scammers to disconnect the call. The victim lodged a police complaint the next day.
Police are currently working to recover the funds from the fraudsters' bank accounts.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
