The Versova police have lodged a case after an unidentified scammer duped actress Kavita Virmani, 50, of ₹2.10 lakh for facilitating her entry into the Bigg Boss show.
According to the police, Virmani, who resides in Versova, Andheri West, with her 25-year-old son, received messages from two mobile numbers (9653598480 and 8307879574) on January 12. The text on WhatsApp instructed her to contact them to participate in the Bigg Boss show.
Subsequently, she called one of the numbers, where the unidentified person assured her entry into the show and demanded ₹30,000, providing a UPI barcode scanner. She transferred the same amount via PhonePe.
On January 21, the fraudster contacted her again, demanding an additional ₹72,000 under the pretext of registration, and provided HDFC bank details. She complied with the instructions and transferred the same amount via PhonePe. Later, despite frequent inquiries about her entry into the reality show, the fraudster provided various excuses, obtaining an additional ₹1,08,000 from Virmani, totalling ₹2.10 lakh.
Realising that she had fallen victim to a scam, she filed a case against the unidentified person under Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating and dishonesty), along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
