New Delhi: Just a week ago, a BJP leader from Haryana had received a series of extortion calls from a landline number in Chandigarh which turned out to be CM’s office landline number.
The leader from Karnal was asked to deposit 60,000 Dirhams (approximately Rs 12 lakh) in a Dubai account number or “face dire consequences”, said the report, which added the caller claimed to be Haryana CM’s cousin.
Chander Prakash Kathuria speaking of calls said: “On October 16, I received four calls on my mobile from a landline. It was followed by two WhatsApp calls from a mobile number. The caller asked me to deposit 60,000 Dirhams in a bank account in Dubai or face dire consequences. The caller also sent me an account number on WhatsApp.”
He is currently the head of Haryana State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd (Sugarfed), News 18 reports.
He also added that “In one call from the landline, the caller introduced himself as Vishnath Yadav Khattar and claimed to be the Chief Minister’s cousin. I asked him how could he be both — Yadav and Khattar. But he insisted that it was his correct name. In another call, the caller introduced himself as Rajiv Jain, the CM’s media advisor. But I replied that I knew Rajiv and that it was not his voice. The caller than disconnected the line. Then, I received two WhatsApp calls in which the same demand was reiterated… a bank account number was also sent.”
Kathuria then decided to alert the region SP Surender Singh Bhoria and also informed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar about the extortion calls.
When the Police probed the matter, the landline number indeed turned out to be of Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) which is located on the fourth floor of the Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh.
“It is a serious matter. The landline number is of the CM’s office. The Chief Minister is monitoring the investigation’s progress. It seems the landline number may have been hacked. But if that is the case, it is an even more serious issue that needs to be investigated,” said CM media advisor Rajiv Jain.
A complaint was then registered with the Karnal Civil Lines police station on October 17.
The team of officials headed by DSP Virender Saini arrived at the CMO to question staffers the very next day after the complaint was filed.
Over more than 100 call records were collected from the CMO.
Further proving the matter revealed the WhatsApp calls were made from UK.
“We have questioned 7-8 officials at the CMO, one after the other. All of them have denied making any phone call to Mr Kathuria,” said the Police officer investigating the case.