One of the cybercriminals posed as ex Delhi Police chief Rakesh Asthana. (Representational)
New Delhi:
In a case of sextortion, a 75-year-old resident of Delhi’s Vasant Kunj was cheated of Rs 7.34 lakh by a gaggle of cybercriminals, considered one of whom posed as former Delhi Police commissioner Rakesh Asthana.
The cyber scammers trapped KN Joshi through the use of the modus operandi of obscene video chat adopted by a name for extortion.
Mr Joshi, in his grievance with the Delhi Police, has stated that on January 15, he obtained a message saying “whats up” from a lady who launched herself as Anjali Sharma.
She then requested for a video name and appeared nude, he stated in his grievance, including, “In a couple of minutes the decision was disconnected.”
Two days afterward January 17, she shared a morphed obscene video of Mr Joshi and threatened that if he did not pay Rs 61,000, she would make it viral on social media. Mr Joshi stated that he instantly blocked the quantity.
Then on January 25, he missed a name from an unknown quantity. “I referred to as again on the quantity and the individual advised me that he’s Rakesh Asthana, Police Commissioner of Delhi. He stated that he acquired details about the video name with Anjali and requested me whether or not you will have contacted her,” Mr Joshi advised the police.
“I advised him that I by no means met her. He stated that Anjali is a drug smuggler whose precise title is Neha and shared a duplicate of the FIR. He stated that the video goes viral on YouTube and gave me the variety of Dhyaneshwar Bajirao,” he stated.
When Mr Joshi contacted Bajirao, he demanded Rs 21,500 and Rs 43,000 by a digital pockets to get these movies deleted and likewise assured him that he would get again the cash.
“This made me acquire some belief that they’re precise police. He additionally shared a duplicate of the e-mail stating that the video was deleted,” the FIR, registered on April 25, reads.
Mr Joshi thought that his plight can be over after paying Rs 64,500 in two installments however the fraudsters stored asking for more cash on one excuse or the opposite.
The one who posed himself as Rakesh Asthana and his gang cooked up weird tales round Anjali to extort as a lot cash they might from Mr Joshi as attainable. He launched Mr Joshi to an individual referred to as Ajay Kumar Ghagat and advised him that Ghagat is an ACP and Mr Joshi ought to pay him Rs 2 lakh for “chai pani” (tea and snacks — a euphemism for bribe).
Then the ACP shared a video of a lifeless physique to Mr Joshi and advised him that Anjali’s mom has dedicated suicide and so he ought to pay Rs 4 lakh into her account.
A police officer, aware of the investigation, stated that Mr Joshi paid Rs 7,34,500 in whole on three totally different dates.
The police officer added, “In these kind of cybercrime, fraudsters use recorded obscene movies of ladies which they play on video name to individuals. Initially individuals suppose that they have a name from a lady. In the recorded name, these girls ask individuals to undress or indulge into some obscene act. When they try this, these criminals file it and share it again to the individuals threatening that if they do not pay cash, it will be made viral on social media.”
According to him, there have been instances by which individuals merely obtained calls however refused to take pleasure in any obscene act. “Even then, they recorded the video of such individuals, morphed it and made it obscene. They shared it again to individuals asking them to pay, in any other case they might make it viral on social media,” he stated.
“They use the title of senior cops to threaten individuals. In some instances, they dressed as cops and made video calls asking them to pay enormous cash,” he added. The police have launched a probe hoping to get some breakthrough very quickly.
Rakesh Asthana retired because the Delhi Police commissioner in July 2022.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)