Fake journalist dupes banker of Rs 1.78 lakh, arrested

A fake journalist, who reportedly ran an extortion racket by posing as a “big shot” of a news channel, was arrested when he hoodwinked a woman probationary officer (PO) of a nationalised bank.

The banker, posted in Purnia, some 350 km from the State capital, was duped of Rs 1.78 lakh by the conman. 

Kumar Dipankar (27) of Kishanganj district in eastern Bihar and probationary officer Pratibha (name changed to protect her identity) became friends through Facebook on which the fake scribe had described himself as a top-notch electronic media man working for a national news channel.

Without verifying his claims, the woman banker shared much of her feelings with the “journalist”. She asked him to use his influence and help her brother-in-law in getting released from a Bhubaneswar jail where he was cooling his heels on some fraud charges.

Saying it was not a big deal for him, Dipankar, however, asked the PO to shell out Rs 1.78 lakh as several people needed to be bribed to get the job done. Implicitly trusting her Facebook friend, Pratibha gave him the said amount. Days, and then months, passed.

When her brother-in-law did not come out of jail, she enquired with Dipankar who began giving one excuse after another. When pressed further, he threatened to expose the woman banker. The PO then came to Patna and visited the office of the news channel, which denied that Dipankar was ever associated with them or any other electronic media.