A 61-year-old government engineer in Hyderabad allegedly lost Rs. 10 lakh after a fraudster posed as an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) official and claimed that a bribery complaint had been filed against him. Cyberabad cybercrime police are investigating the case following the victim’s complaint.
The complainant, an executive engineer with the Telangana Roads & Buildings Department, told police that he received a WhatsApp call on July 15 from a person identifying himself as Narender Reddy from the ACB.
“The caller claimed a complaint was registered against him with the ACB and demanded immediate payment to have the complaint withdrawn,” the victim told police.
Following the fraudster’s instructions, the engineer transferred Rs. 10 lakh through 25 UPI transactions between July 15 and August 2. The money was sent from his accounts and those of his friends to multiple phone numbers and UPI IDs provided by the accused.
As the demands continued, the engineer made his own enquiries and realised that he had been cheated. He first filed a complaint through the national cybercrime helpline and later approached Cyberabad cybercrime police on August 17.
Police registered a case under Sections 204, 308(2), 318(4), 319(2), 335, 338, 336(3) and 340(2), read with Section 3(5), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The case also includes Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act.
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