In a distressing case of online fraud, a Pune resident fell victim to a scammer posing as the “commissioner of Delhi Police,” losing a staggering sum of Rs 7.14 lakh. The fraudster duped the victim by claiming that the police required the funds to investigate a series of video calls made by a purported “naked woman,” including calls to the victim himself. The incident has prompted the victim, a 33-year-old resident of Ambegaon, to file a First Information Report (FIR) at the Bharati Vidyapeeth police station.
According to the FIR, in February 2022, the victim received a video call from an unknown individual, who appeared nude during the call. Despite disconnecting after some time, the fraudster managed to capture screenshots and videos of the victim’s interaction with the caller. Exploiting this compromising material, the scammer proceeded to threaten the victim, asserting that the explicit content would be circulated among the victim’s friends and family.
Further complicating matters, the victim later received a phone call from an individual identifying themselves as “Shrivastav, chief of Delhi Police.” This imposter informed the victim that an investigation was underway to apprehend the woman responsible for the video calls. Deceptively, the accused insisted that the police required financial resources for the investigation. Subsequently, between February 2022 and May 2023, the victim was coerced into transferring approximately Rs 7.14 lakh to multiple bank accounts using various online platforms, including Google Pay.
Upon realizing the deception, the victim promptly filed a complaint with the Cyber Police Station of the Pune City Police. Following a thorough verification process, an FIR was registered on Monday at the Bharati Vidyapeeth police station. Inspector Vijay Puranik, the investigating officer assigned to the case, confirmed that the accused, who remains unidentified, has been charged under sections 419, 420, 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
