Mumbai Police register FIR on Vidya Balan's complaint of impersonation and fraud on Instagram

Mumbai Police register FIR after Bollywood actor Vidya Balan complains someone impersonating her using fake Instagram account

Mumbai Police has registered a case after Bollywood actor Vidya Balan complained that someone was impersonating her using a fake Instagram account and email id and cheating people from the film industry.

Quoting the first information report (FIR) report registered at the Khar police station on Monday, newswire PTI reported that the crime came to light on January 16 when a stylist associated with movies received a WhatsApp message from an unidentified number. The message claimed that the sender was Vidya Balan who wanted to discuss work with him, the PTI report said.

Since the stylist had the actor's contact details, he suspected something was not right about the message from an unknown number. He then informed Vidya Balan about the message, the official said.

The actor told the stylist that she had not sent him any message and that the number did not belong to her.

Between January 17 and 19, the actor learnt that someone had created a fake Instagram profile and a bogus email id claiming that it belonged to her and unidentified persons were using them to contact people from the film industry and others to "discuss work", the official said.

Alarmed by the attempt to cheat others using her name, the actor asked her manager to approach the Khar police station. Accordingly, a written complaint was submitted on January 20, said the FIR.

On Monday (February 19), the actor also lodged a complaint, resulting in the FIR for identity theft under Section 66 (c) of the IT Act, said the official, adding that a probe was underway.

Meanwhile, on February 15, Malwani Police in Mumbai arrested two persons for deceiving an actor allegedly under the guise of stock market share transactions. Both suspects received fraudulent funds into their accounts, the police said. The duo was identified as Saadhan Khillare and Pandurang Hiparkar, an official said on Thursday.

The victim, Niraj Singh (33) an actor from the Hindi TV serial, stumbled upon an account on Facebook last year, leading him to a link that added him to a WhatsApp group. In the group, members shared screenshots purportedly showcasing lucrative stock market transactions. A caller, posing as the group's admin, falsely claimed that investments could yield a 300 per cent return, the official said.

Convinced by these promises, the victim deposited Rs. 3,30,000 across various accounts. However, upon attempting to withdraw the invested amount, he discovered his account was devoid of funds. When attempts to contact the group's number failed, he promptly reported the scam to the Malwani Police, prompting an investigation under Assistant Commissioner Shailendra Dhiwar's directive.