‘Checking if you’re fit for SIR’: Dehradun BLO duped of Rs 1.5L; callers posed as EC officials

DEHRADUN: A booth level officer (BLO) from Dehradun's Raipur was allegedly duped of Rs 1.5 lakh by cybercriminals posing as Election Commission (EC) officials, amid the ongoing preparations for the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttarakhand. The woman told police that the caller claimed her work would be evaluated before the exercise began in the state.

Inspector Pradeep Kumar Rana said the 56-year-old complainant received a call from an unknown number on Jan 9. "The caller introduced himself as an EC official and said they wanted to assess her performance as a BLO ahead of the upcoming SIR. He then asked her to share a code that she would be receiving in a while. Trusting them to be officials of EC, she shared the code," Rana said. Soon after, the SIM card on her phone was deactivated and remains so till date, inspector Rana added.

Initially, the woman assumed it was a technical issue and did not suspect foul play. "A few days later, when she visited her bank, she found that around Rs 1.5 lakh had been transferred from her account in multiple transactions between Jan 15 and 17," Rana said. It was only then that she realised she had been duped by cybercriminals and lodged a complaint on Saturday. An FIR has been filed under BNS Section 318(4) (cheating), along with relevant provisions of IT Act. A probe has been launched to identify and arrest the accused, Rana added.