Cyber fraudsters have duped a BJP MLA from Jharkhand, making him their latest victim. Kushwaha Shashi Bhushan Mehta, the legislator from the Panki constituency, was defrauded of ₹1.27 lakh after being lured into participating in a fake car auction.
Sources said the cyber fraudsters even provided a forged payment receipt to Mehta before switching off their mobile phones. The incident occurred on 26 June.
The MLA has filed an FIR at the cyber police station against three individuals — Ritesh Kumar, Anoop Kumar, and Akash Sinha.
Mehta stated that he was in Mumbai attending a session of the Lok Sabha's Estimates Committee when the fraud took place. As a result, the payment of ₹1.27 lakh was made by his assistant, Saroj Kumar Chatterjee.
In his written complaint, Mehta explained that he received a call at 9 a.m. on 26 June from a man identifying himself as Ritesh Kumar, claiming to be a GST Customs officer.
Ritesh Kumar told him that several vehicles had been seized by the GST Customs Department in Malda, West Bengal, and were being auctioned. He also sent photos of the vehicles to Mehta via WhatsApp.
One such vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner, was said to be priced at ₹12.70 lakh. Mehta was told that to participate in the auction, he needed to deposit 10 per cent of the vehicle’s value.
Ritesh then gave him the contact number of a person named Anoop, who provided the account details of one Akash Sinha, into which the amount was to be deposited.
After the payment was made, a receipt was shared with Mehta, which later turned out to be fake. Following this, the mobile phones of both accused individuals were found to be switched off.
A formal complaint has been lodged, and the cyber police are currently investigating the matter.
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