A man from Bihar has been arrested for allegedly hacking the WhatsApp account of former Haryana DGP Kanwar Nirmal Singh and duping his former gunman of Rs 40,000, police said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar from Nalanda district, was apprehended by the cyber crime unit of Panchkula after a month-long investigation based on technical evidence. Police said his accomplices are currently absconding.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred on March 9 when Singh received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed a parcel had arrived and instructed him to dial a code to receive it. Upon following the instructions, the fraudsters gained access to his WhatsApp account by linking his number to another device.
Also Read: Seven agents of Chinese cyber gang held in Ranchi
Using the compromised account, the accused allegedly sent messages to Singh’s contacts citing an emergency and seeking financial assistance. One of the recipients, Gulshan Kumar, a police personnel who had earlier served as Singh’s gunman, transferred Rs 40,000 to a bank account shared by the fraudsters.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) Amarinder Singh said a case of cheating was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Panchkula.
“The money was deposited into the bank account of Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Nalanda, Bihar. Our team arrested the accused on March 29. Rs 40,000 has been recovered from him. The accused has been remanded to judicial custody today. He had rented his account to the criminals,” Singh said.
He urged the public to remain cautious against such frauds. “I appeal to the public not to dial any unknown codes from their phones or share OTPs at anyone's behest. If someone you know suddenly asks for money on WhatsApp, be sure to call them and confirm before making the payment,” he added.
Police said efforts are under way to trace and arrest the remaining accused involved in the fraud.
Follow us
