Shiv Sena MLA from Borivali, Prakash Surve, is the latest victim of sextortion – a menace that is a corollary of the high incidence of cyber crime.
Surve received a video call from a fraudster who allegedly morphed the picture of the MLA, to extort money; the MLA refused to give in to the demands and approached the police.
According to a Dahisar police official, the incident took place on November 16. The MLA first received a WhatsApp message – “Hello, How are you. K” – on Novemb`er 11 from an unknown number, to which he did not respond. Then, on November 13, he received another message – “Hi” – from the same number, but he again chose not to reply.
Three days later, on November 16, Surve received a third message stating, “Hello, Kya Hua Ji”, from the same number, followed by a WhatsApp video call. He ignored this but answered when he received a second call from the number, presuming that a late night call may entail some urgency.
“Since I am into social work, I would answer calls and WhatsApp messages from unknown numbers and try to resolve the issues,” said Surve in his statement to the police. However, to his shock, Surve saw in the video clip a woman undressing before the camera. He immediately disconnected and sent the caller a stern warning to not to call him again, or face a police complaint.
Soon, the MLA fathomed the reason behind the video call, when he received a clip of their earlier conversation. This time the fraudster had morphed Surve's photo and demanded Rs 5000; if he was not paid, he threatened to make the video go viral on social media.
Based on the MLA's statement, the Dahisar police on Wednesday registered an offence under sections for defamation (500) and criminal intimidation (506) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 66 E (violation of privacy) and 67 A (transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
Recently, another Shiv Sena MLA, Mangesh Kudalkar, was threatened in a similar fashion. The police had arrested Mausamdeen Khan, 33, from Rajasthan in that case.
