Fake ACB officer demands bribe from officials in Siddipet

Four officials in the district had got calls from a person through the same phone number claiming himself to be an ACB officer.

Siddipet: At a time when the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials were carrying out raids on different corrupt officials across the State, a conman saw an opportunity to threaten officials in the Siddipet district, to seek money from them in the guise of an ACB officer.

On a single day on Friday, four officials in the district had got calls from a person through the same phone number claiming himself to be an ACB officer.

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Saying that his office had received multiple complaints against a Mandal Panchayat officer accusing him of holding some inappropriate properties, the fraudster demanded Rs 1.5 lakh from the MPO assuring to give him a clean chit.

When the officer said that he was not holding any such properties and refused to give any amount, the conman scaled down his demand to Rs 50,000. Later, he asked the officer to send Rs 10,000 as an initial payment to get the clean sheet certificate.

The MPO had approached Commissioner of Police N Swetha after consulting higher officials. During the inquiry, the Siddipet Police have found that four officials have admitted that they had got a phone call from 08454-9989750.

The STD code of the landline number is from the Gajwel area. However, the police were unsure whether any officer fell prey to these kinds of calls. They were also not exactly aware of how many officials actually got such calls so far. The Commissioner of Police have asked the officials in the district to approach them if they receive any such calls.