A case has been registered against a person for trying to loot the royal family of Qatar by creating a fake WhatsApp account in the name of Maharashtra NCP leader Praful Patel.
The accused is a businessman and had described himself as a leader. He created a fake account on WhatsApp using Praful Patel’s picture and then demanded money from the royal family of Qatar. He said that his mother has cancer and needs money for treatment.
Money was needed for mother’s treatment
According to the police, the name of the accused businessman is Rahul Kant and he lives in Juhu area of Mumbai. Police have registered a case against him. He is accused of contacting the royal family using the VIP number and asking for money. During police interrogation, Kant claimed that his mother was suffering from cancer and he needed money for her treatment.
Maharashtra Cyber Department’s Special IG Yashasvi Yadav said that using the names of popular people and leaders on social media and defaming them has become common, which is worrying. Police said that the accused’s business had failed and he was not able to get treatment for his mother who was suffering from cancer.
He told that the accused had used a paid app link, which makes it easy to access VIP numbers. He used Praful Patel’s photograph and number to contact the royal family of Qatar and introduced himself as Praful Patel.
This incident happened on 20th July. Initially Praful Patel thought that his phone had been hacked but when the royal family told him about the entire incident, he appealed not to just look at the display picture and not get entangled in such things.
The police have registered a case of forgery and fraud against Rahul Kant under sections of the IT Act and the Indian Justice Code. IG Yashasvi Yadav said that the fake WhatsApp account created in the name of Prafull Patel has been deactivated. At present the accused has not been arrested.