Former Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Shailesh Gandhi (75) had recently received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number and when he answered the call, he saw an unknown woman indulging in obscene acts. Later Gandhi received a message on his phone informing him that the said call had been recorded and threatened to make it viral to his friends and relatives. Gandhi had also received a phone call who fraudulenty used the name of a former IPS officer, threatening, if he should take action against Gandhi.
According to the Santacruz police, on August 27, around 10 am, Gandhi had received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number. "When I got the video call, the person at the other end started doing something wrong. I disconnected the call and felt deeply upset. I blocked the number and thought it was over. But then the calls increased and came from different numbers. They asked me to go to the toilet and share obscene pictures. In one call on August 29, a person said he was from the police and used name similar to that of a former IPS officer. I realised it was a fraud, and blocked that number too. But it did not stop at that. They sent smses with links and threatened that if I did not talk to them or answer their calls, my image will be shared with people I know and will also be uploaded," Shailesh Gandhi said, speaking to the Free Press Journal.
"I hope this is reported widely so that people are aware about such frauds and no one falls for it. With the increase in the ambit of internet and mobile, I was told this will only increase with time. While I do not feel that such crimes will end totally, there was a palpable helplessness on part of the police officers. No one officer can do something about this. This needs some systemic change and solution. We have people taking our Aadhaar details before issuing a sim card. I got calls from different numbers. Why can they not be traced and held accountable? As I like to help people with RTI and keep sharing my number, I take random calls from numbers that are not saved in my phone. The police can catch hold of such people with Aadhaar details. If distributors are issuing sim cards without details, then there should be action on them too. I know of a friend who approached his bank even while money was going out fraudulently through multiple transactions from his bank. The bank said they cannot do anything because the OTP was verified. I understand this may not end completely but action can certainly be taken. Maybe the TRAI can step in and do something too. There should be some action on this. Maybe a paper like yours can also take up this issue," Gandhi said.
The police have registered a case against unknown person on Tuesday on charges of putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion and violation of privacy under the sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.
