Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 4 (PTI) A case has been registered after unknown persons allegedly created fake social media accounts in the name of senior IAS officer M G Rajamanickam in Keralam and attempted to commit financial fraud using them, police on Friday said.
Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Police Station booked a case based on a complaint filed by Rajamanickam on Thursday, officials said.
According to police officials, the accused created multiple fake Facebook accounts using Rajamanickam’s name, official photographs and personal details to impersonate him.
The accounts were operated under various profile names, including “Mar Rajamanickam IAS”, “M.G. Rajamanickam IAS”, “Anbodu Rajamanickam (MGR IAS Officer)”, “Raja Manickam” and “IAS Rajamanickam MGR”, police said.
The accused allegedly projected these accounts as the official accounts of Rajamanickam, who currently serves as Secretary (Power, Environment, Parliamentary Affairs and Devaswom) and CMD of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
They allegedly attempted to syphon off money by approaching several people through Facebook Messenger, police said.
Officials said the fraudsters also allegedly claimed that household furniture and other belongings were being sold by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officers who had been transferred and needed to dispose of their belongings urgently due to their relocation.
They allegedly asked people to make advance payments through UPI account.
The case was registered under Section 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, relating to impersonation, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, relating to cheating by personation using a computer resource.
Police said that account details of the Facebook pages have been sought from Meta to identify the people who started them. PTI TBA TBA ADB
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