A case has been registered at the cyber police station in Buxar after fraudsters allegedly created a fake WhatsApp profile using the photograph of principal district and sessions Judge Kajal Jhamb and attempted to extort money from lawyers and judicial staff, officials said on Wednesday.
Incident Details
Court administration officials said several advocates received messages from numbers with Thailand's country code '+66', seeking urgent financial help. In some instances, recipients were asked to transfer Rs 50,000 immediately.
Complaint and FIR
In-charge court administrator Rajeev Kumar Srivastava said a complaint was filed soon after the matter surfaced, leading to registration of an FIR at the cyber police station.
District Bar Association general secretary Bindeshwari Pandey said he received one such message on Monday evening and promptly alerted the principal district judge.
Investigation Underway
DSP (cyber crime) Avinash Kashyap confirmed that the matter is under investigation and efforts are being made to arrest cyber criminals and bust their racket.
About the Author: Kamlesh Singh, based in Buxar, covers district-level news including neighbouring regions of Uttar Pradesh. Contributing to The Times of India since 2001, also writes for Dance of Democracy.
