Key Points
- On September 5, Sudha Murty received a call from a person claiming to be a telecom official, alleging her number was linked to obscene videos.
- The caller, whose number appeared as “Telecom Dept” on Truecaller, threatened to disconnect her services and tried to extort personal information.
- Murty did not comply and, realizing it was a scam, disconnected the call.
- A formal FIR was filed on her behalf on September 20 with the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police under the IT Act.
- Police have traced the caller’s number to Kolkata and are working with West Bengal police to apprehend the suspect.
New Delhi: On the morning of September 5, while in Delhi, Sudha Murty received a call from a man who identified himself as a senior officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) or Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The caller falsely alleged that her mobile number was registered in 2020 without being linked to her Aadhaar card and was now being used to send obscene videos.
The fraudster threatened to disconnect her mobile number by noon if she did not comply with his demands, which included providing her Aadhaar details. To add a layer of authenticity, the number appeared on the Truecaller app as “Telecom Dept.”
According to the complaint, when Murty identified herself as an MP and stated that all formalities were complete, the caller became rude and abusive, shouting that he “did not care if she was an MP.” Recognizing the classic signs of a cyber scam, Murty refused to share any information and ended the call.
Police Investigation
After returning to Bengaluru, Murty’s personal assistant, B. Ganapathy, filed a formal complaint on her behalf at the Cyber Crime police station on September 20. An FIR was registered against the unknown person under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, including Section 66(C) for identity theft and 66(D) for cheating by personation.
Investigators have made progress in the case. An officer confirmed that the phone number used by the fraudster has been traced to Kolkata, and the Bengaluru police are coordinating with their counterparts in West Bengal to identify and arrest the suspect . The police are treating the case as a serious attempt to defraud a prominent public figure using a “digital arrest” scare tactic.
This incident comes shortly after another high-profile case in Bengaluru where Preeti Sudhakar, wife of BJP MP K. Sudhakar, lost ₹14 lakh in a similar “digital arrest” scam but was able to recover the full amount thanks to swift action by the police. Authorities continue to urge the public to be vigilant and to immediately report any such fraudulent calls to the national cyber helpline (1930).
