Kerala Police Register FIR Over ₹3-Crore Bribe Call
An MLA and two MPs receive a call promising Cabinet berth; police FIR following complaint by Priyaka Gandhi’s private secretary
The Kerala police have registered an FIR over a fake WhatsApp call offering a legislator a ministerial berth in exchange for Rs 3 crore.
The case was filed based on a complaint from Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi's private secretary. The preliminary probe also confirmed that two other MPs had received similar offers over the phone.
Priyanka’s private secretary, D S Rajkumar, lodged the FIR, after which a detailed investigation was launched into the alleged impersonation and cheating attempt. The case has been registered under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, which deals with cheating by impersonation using a computer.
According to the FIR, the police reported that WhatsApp calls were made from a specific mobile number to Elathur MLA Vidya Balakrishnan, Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil, and Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose. The caller, identifying himself as “Rajkumar,” claimed to be an official from Priyanka Gandhi’s office.
The Congress MLA had received a call from someone pretending to be from Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi’s Delhi office, offering a Cabinet position in exchange for Rs 3 crore. Vidya Balakrishnan lodged a complaint with the Kozhikode Cyber Cell, stating that on July 6 she got a WhatsApp call from a man introducing himself as “Rajkumar” and claiming to work in Priyanka Gandhi’s Delhi office.
He told her the V. D. Satheeshan Cabinet would soon be expanded and that she could land a position by paying Rs 3 crore. The caller said he got her number from another MP in Kozhikode district and spoke in English, claiming to be calling from the Delhi office of Priyanka Gandhi.
