Caller ID spoofing: Rs 3 crore demanded from builder in BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol’s name, 2 detained
The Pune police are probing an extortion bid of Rs 3 crore in the name of a BJP youth wing programme by making a spoof call with caller IDs of former Pune mayor and Maharashtra BJP general secretary Murlidhar Mohol and his relative using scamming software.
A First Information Report (FIR) in the case was registered at Kothrud police station Sunday (March 26) by a 56-year-old Pune-based builder. According to the FIR, the builder received calls on Saturday afternoon in which Rs 3 crore was demanded from him for a programme of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP.
In these calls, the caller IDs displayed on the builder’s cell phone were those of Mohol and his cousin Ravi Atole. The callers threatened to harm the builder’s business interests if the extortion money was not paid.
Initial investigation revealed that the calls were made using spoofing software. In the subsequent probe, the police identified two suspects as Sandeep Patil and Shekhar Takawane.
Senior Inspector Hemant Patil, in-charge of Kothrud police station, said, “An investigation has revealed that the suspects used scamming software which showed fake caller IDs on the complainant’s phone where the extortion demand was made. We have detained the two suspects and a probe has been launched.”
The police invoked Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to extortion, criminal intimidation and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. Officials said that caller ID spoofing software uses various methods of network manipulation to display a fraudulent number or identity on a receiver’s phone.
