Hry BJP leader gets extortion call via i'net telephony: Cops

A Haryana BJP leader has been getting extortion calls, with the caller using internet telephony to make it appear that he was dialling from the Chief Minister's Office, an official said.

The probe into the case has revealed that the internet telephony call to Karnal-based leader Chander Prakash Kathuria had originated outside India and had come via a New Zealand gateway, Superintendent of Police Surinder Singh Bhoria told PTI.

No calls were made from any landline number of the CMO, he said.

Haryana State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd (Sugarfed) chief Kathuria had got the spurious calls on October 16 evening.

Identifying himself alternatively as a cousin of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's and then CMO officials, the caller had demanded 60,000 Dhirams (about Rs 12 lakh) to be deposited in a Dubai bank account.

On October 16 between 5.30 pm and 6 pm, I received four calls on my mobile from a landline. The caller ID on my phone displayed the incoming call as that of Haryana CMO's landline number," said Kathuria.

The same caller made two more WhatsApp calls to him from another number in changed voice and repeated his demand, he said, adding he was also sent a Dubai account number over his WhatsApp number.

In one call, the caller identified himself as the chief minister's cousin, in another, he said he was the CM's media advisor and in yet another call he claimed himself to be a former OSD of the CM, he added.

"He made the last call using abusive language, speaking in Hindi. I tried to call back on the number of Haryana CMO, but as the office must have been closed by then, the call went unanswered, Kathuria said.

He added he subsequently lodged a complaint with the Karnal SP and also informed the chief minister about the incident.

On Kathuria's complaint, the police lodged a case at Karnal Civil Lines police station on October 17, against unidentified persons on charges of extortion, criminal intimidation and under various sections of the Information Technology Act.

Elaborating upon the ongoing probe, Karnal SP Bhoria said, "It is clear from our investigations that no calls were made from any landline number of the Haryana Chief Minister's Office at Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. These scam phone calls were made from an international gateway via New Zealand."