Tumakuru man held for posing as cybercrime police officer to extort money by threatening 'arrests'

According to the complaint filed on July 15, Arun allegedly contacted individuals who had commented on popular Facebook pages posing as Sushil Kumar, a Bengaluru Cybercrime Police officer.

Mangaluru: A 27-year-old man from Tumakuru has been arrested for allegedly impersonating as a cybercrime police officer and extorting money from social media users by issuing fake arrest threats.

Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H said that the arrested is Arun T, son of late Timmaraju and a resident of Kothitopu in Tumakuru district. He has been booked at Mangaluru CEN station under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, and Sections 112, 308(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on a complaint.

According to the complaint filed on July 15, Arun allegedly contacted individuals who had commented on popular Facebook pages like Kannada Models, Troll Master, and Troll Basya, posing as Sushil Kumar, a Bengaluru Cybercrime Police officer. He would falsely claim that complaints had been filed against them and threaten arrest unless they paid him.

The complainant in the case was reportedly intimidated and coerced into transferring a total of Rs 1,23,000 to the accused’s account. The Commissioner said that Arun has a history of similar offenses, with as many as 11 complaints registered against him on the Cyber Crime Portal.

Following an investigation by the CEN Police, the accused was traced to Tumakuru and taken into custody. He was produced before a court which has remanded him in judicial custody.