Bihar man arrested for renting out bank account to fraudsters who hacked ex-Haryana DGP's WhatsApp

According to police, the fraudsters not only hacked the retired officer’s WhatsApp account but also used his contacts to extort money and defame his image.

Cybercrime police have arrested a Bihar resident for allegedly providing his bank account details to cyber fraudsters who hacked the WhatsApp account of a former Haryana DGP.

The case was registered earlier this month on the complaint of former DGP Kanwar Nirmal Singh. (HT_PRINT)

The case was registered earlier this month on the complaint of former DGP Kanwar Nirmal Singh. The police have identified the accused as Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Nalanda district in Bihar. According to police, the fraudsters not only hacked the retired officer’s WhatsApp account but also used his contacts to extort money and defame his image.

As per the complaint, the former DGP received a call from an unknown number on March 9. The caller claimed to have a parcel for him and asked him to dial a code to receive it. As soon as he dialed the code, the fraudsters gained access to his WhatsApp account by obtaining the one-time password and logging into his number on their device.

They then sent messages to his contacts, requesting money on the pretext of financial distress. A police official, Gulshan Kumar, who had earlier served as the complainant’s gunman, fell into the trap and transferred ₹40,000 to the account provided by the fraudsters.

The cyber crime police station registered the case under Section 318 (4) (cheating using electronic means) of the BNS. During the investigation, it was found that the defrauded amount had been transferred to the account of Rajesh Kumar. He was arrested from Nalanda on March 29, and police recovered ₹40,000 from him.

The accused was produced before a local court on Monday and remanded to judicial custody. Police said that Rajesh had rented out his bank account to cyber fraudsters.