Frauds impersonate ADG to extort money, probe on

According to the complaint lodged by Singal, a 1996-batch IPS officer, he learnt through his family and friends that some people were getting calls from frauds, who used his name to demand money.

Mumbai: Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Dr Ravinder Singal has lodged a complaint with the Azad Maidan police that some imposters used his photos and tried to cheat a Colaba resident. Police said that the Colaba resident immediately informed the senior IPS officer about the cheating bid. ADG Singal is presently posted as Controller of Legal Metrology, Maharashtra.

When Singal inquired into the matter, he found that a young man was getting ransom calls for answering a video call made by a female.

According to the complaint lodged by Singal, a 1996-batch IPS officer, he learnt through his family and friends that some people were getting calls from frauds, who used his name to demand money.

When Singal inquired into the matter, he found that a young man was getting ransom calls for answering a video call made by a female. Initially, the youngster was blackmailed saying that a morphed photo of him will be forwarded to his contacts to defame him if he failed to pay up.

Since the man refused to pay, the frauds used Singal’s name and his photo in uniform as the profile picture of WhatsApp account to blackmail him.

“Posing as Singal, the accused were trying to extort money. They told him that the police had got the complaint from the woman in the video call and if he wanted to save himself, he should pay,” said a police officer attached to Azad Maidan police station.

“However, the youngster narrated the incident to one of his family friends who knew Singal well. The family friend then informed Singal about the episode. The senior IPS officer instructed the young man not to succumb to the demands of the fraudsters and lodged a complaint with the Azad Maidan police,” the officer added.

The police said they are trying to trace the accused through the mobile number that is been used in the cheating.

“We have registered a case against unknown persons under section 170 (personating a public servant), 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 511 (Punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 84 B (punishment for abetment of offences) and 66 (computer related offences) of the Information Technology Act, 2000,” said a police officer from Azad Maidan police station.

The police said Singal is popular as he has completed the Ironman Triathlon in France and he is also an author and a TEDx Speaker.