Unidentified persons pose as AAP MLA Kunwar Pratap, extort money; FIR registered

As per the police, the accused used a fake WhatsApp account of AAP’s Amritsar-North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh and tried to extort ₹20,000 from one Simarpreet Arora; the case was registered on the complaint of Anshuman Khanna, who works in the office of the MLA

Unidentified persons have been booked for allegedly impersonating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Amritsar-North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh and extorting money from people through WhatsApp.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons under Sections 402 (cheating), 384 (extortion) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act for posing as AAP MLA Kunwar Pratap and trying to extort money. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

As per the police, the accused used a fake WhatsApp account for the crime. The case was registered on the complaint of Anshuman Khanna, who works in the office of the MLA. He said, “The MLA informed us that someone has been operating a WhatsApp account in his name. The accused also used the MLA’s picture on the account. The accused have tried to extort ₹20,000 from one Simarpreet Arora by using the same fake account.”

He said, “The account does not belong to Kunwar Vijay Pratap. It has been created only to cheat and extort money from common people.” The complainant has also provided screenshots of the messages of the fake WhatsApp account to the police for further action.

Civil Lines station house officer (SHO) Amolakpreet Singh said a case has been registered under Sections 402 (cheating), 384 (extortion) and 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act.