Bengaluru: Presence of mind and due diligence by Karnataka governor Thaawarchand Gehlot thwarted the likely designs of a fraudster, who impersonated a Union minister and made two back-to-back calls to the governor over the weekend.However, the governor identified that the call was made by a fake person and reported the incident to the cybercrime police. According to a complaint filed by the secretary to the governor, Raj Bhavan, R Prabhushankar, the incident took place between 1.30pm and 1.45pm Saturday.The governor received a call from an unlisted number — 7982537932 — around 1.30pm. When he attended the call, the caller identified himself as Union minister of education Dharmendra Pradhan. The fraudster spoke about something to the governor, who suspected it was not genuine and cut the call.The same person dialled the governor after 14 minutes and tried to convince him he was, indeed, Pradhan. The governor, who knows the protocol followed by Union ministers to call governors, contacted Pradhan and cross-checked if he was making calls from another number. Pradhan denied making any calls to the governor.Prabhushankar told the police it was not immediately clear if the caller wanted to get some favours done or sought financial assistance. A senior officer said a case was registered under the Information Technology Act at the Cybercrime police station, and the investigation is in progress.MSID:: 123768035 413 |
