Actor’s father duped of ₹89,000 in sextortion

The father of a popular film and television actor reportedly fell prey to a sextortion scam earlier this month. According to the Versova police, the 75-year-old complainant said that he was in his Versova residence when he received a lewd phone call at around 7pm on January 10

Mumbai: The father of a popular film and television actor reportedly fell prey to a sextortion scam earlier this month.

Actor’s father duped of ₹89,000 in sextortion

According to the Versova police, the 75-year-old complainant said that he was in his Versova residence when he received a lewd phone call at around 7pm on January 10. He cut the call immediately. Soon, he received an obscene video on WhatsApp from the same number. The complainant blocked the number.

“On January 12, the victim received a call from another number and the caller identified himself as police inspector Rishilal Shukla. The caller told the victim that he had been caught on camera having an obscene conversation with a woman, who has filed a complaint against him. The caller further told the victim that the latter could go to prison for two years,” a police officer said.

Over the next couple of hours, the caller extracted a total of ₹89,000 from the victim under various pretexts, including removing the video from YouTube and getting the woman’s social media accounts blocked to ‘prevent her from defaming him any further’.

The man informed about the incident to his son and daughter-in-law on January 13. They rushed to the police station and an FIR was registered.

“We have registered a case of cheating and impersonation under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. Further inquiries are underway,” the officer added.

The victim’s son, who started as an actor in a popular television serial in the early 2000s, went on to star in several films later in his career.