Scammers use judge’s fake account for extortion bid in Buxar, FIR lodged

Buxar: A case has been registered at the cyber police station in Buxar after fraudsters allegedly created a fake WhatsApp profile using the photograph of principal district and sessions Judge Kajal Jhamb and attempted to extort money from lawyers and judicial staff, officials said on Wednesday.Court administration officials said several advocates received messages from numbers with Thailand’s country code “+66”, seeking urgent financial help. In some instances, recipients were asked to transfer Rs 50,000 immediately.In-charge court administrator Rajeev Kumar Srivastava said a complaint was filed soon after the matter surfaced, leading to registration of an FIR at the cyber police station.District Bar Association general secretary Bindeshwari Pandey said he received one such message on Monday evening and promptly alerted the principal district judge.DSP (cyber crime) Avinash Kashyap confirmed that the matter is under investigation and efforts are being made to arrest cyber criminals and bust their racket.