Jana Sena MLA loses 12 lakh in online fraud

A member of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly has lost Rs 12 lakh in an online fraud, police said.

Cybercriminals allegedly duped Chirri Balaraju, the MLA from Polavaram.

The legislator belonging to Jana Sena Party (JSP) received a WhatsApp message containing a link in the name of a Road Transport Authority (RTA) challan.

The amount was reportedly withdrawn from his bank account after he clicked on the link. On realising that he had fallen victim to cyber fraud, the MLA lodged a complaint with the police.

A case has been registered at Jeelugumilli Police Station. Police said the investigation is underway to trace the accused and recover the amount.

This is not the first case of an MLA of Andhra Pradesh falling victim to cybercrime.

In October last year, an MLA of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had lost Rs 1.07 crore in an alleged digital arrest case.

Cybercriminals impersonating Mumbai cybercrime officials conned Putta Sudhakar Yadav, the MLA from Mydukur in YSR Kadapa district.

The legislator, residing in Hyderabad, had lodged a complaint with Hyderabad cybercrime police after realising that he had been duped.

The fraudsters had threatened to arrest the MLA in a fabricated case of money laundering and human trafficking. They forced him to transfer the money under the pretext of securing a provisional bail.

The cybercriminals had informed the MLA that the Mumbai cybercrime police had registered an FIR against him for money laundering based on 17 complaints, alleging misuse of his Aadhaar and SIM card to open a bank account in his name.

According to the MLA, a fraudster posing as a cybercrime investigation officer had even joined a WhatsApp video call, displaying a forged arrest warrant and a CBI account freeze order. After the MLA was threatened with arrest, he transferred Rs 1.07 crore through nine transactions in a week to secure a provisional bail.

When the scammers demanded another Rs 60 lakh for a court clearance order, the MLA realised that he had been conned and approached the police.