In a striking reminder that even public figures are not immune to cybercrime, Jharkhand’s Panki MLA Shashi Bhushan Mehta was swindled out of ₹1.27 lakh earlier this week. The fraud involved a staged luxury vehicle auction orchestrated through forged communication by imposters claiming to be Customs officials. The case exposes how social engineering tactics have grown increasingly audacious.
Luxury Auction Ruse Targets MLA
Mehta, who was in Mumbai for a Lok Sabha Estimates Committee meeting on June 26, received a WhatsApp call at 9 a.m. from a man identifying himself as Ritesh Kumar, a GST Customs officer from Malda, West Bengal. He was shown photos of seized vehicles—one allegedly a Fortuner priced at ₹12.70 lakh—and told that a 10% deposit was needed to participate in the auction.
Relying on the legitimacy of the contact in his phone, Mehta directed his personal assistant to transfer ₹50,000 via SBI and ₹77,000 through UPI to an account held by “Anoop Sinha.” Soon after, both numbers were unreachable, and a fake payment receipt arrived via WhatsApp. Alarmed, the MLA promptly filed a complaint with the cybercrime helpline on June 27, followed by an FIR at Ranchi Cyber Police on June 28. The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act, with Inspector S. K. Gorai overseeing the investigation.
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Breach Highlights Social Engineering’s Reach
Experts warn that even prominent individuals can fall prey to well-scripted social engineering attacks, especially when scammers exploit trusted contacts and official-sounding communication. Mehta’s confidence in his contact list and the realistic visuals shared cemented the scam’s success.
As the probe unfolds, investigators aim to trace SIM usage, bank account trails, and link the fraud to a broader syndicate. The MLA has expressed optimism that digital forensics and bank coordination will quickly crack the case.
About the Author – Anirudh Mittal is a B.Sc. LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, with a keen interest in corporate law and tech-driven legal change.