Kolkata: On January 18, we received an email from a Bengaluru resident, a Senior Citizen (60), stating that an unknown person had called him from the numbers 91179 26584 and 80821 96049 and that both numbers had the emblem of Kolkata Police as their WhatsApp profile images. The individual who contacted the complainant represented himself as ‘Mr. Rabindranath, Inspector of Kolkata Police’, and informed him that his photograph had apparently been found on an offensive website, to remove which he would have to pay ‘Mr. Rabindranath’ a certain sum of money. This was not a request, but a demand which in short, was extortion.
Needless to say, he did not fall for the story and based on his complaint, a specific case was registered at Cyber Police Station, and during the investigation, we were able to determine the locations of the mobile numbers in question. As a result, a raid was conducted on February 2 by officers of Cyber Police Station in the Techno City Police Station area under Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, leading to the arrest of Pankaj Kumar (26), Avinash Kumar (28), Rohit Kumar (19), Prince Raj (19), and a minor male, all residents of Bihar.
Seven mobile phones fitted with SIM cards and three ATM debit cards were seized from their possession, and they were produced before a court yesterday, with the minor being produced before a juvenile court and kept in a special home. The investigation continues.
Our, Reporter in Chief
R. Manoj Kumar Sharma
Siliguri City, West Bengal
