Crime branch officials arrested two men who allegedly posed as Income Tax and Department of Revenue Intelligence officers and duped some Bollywood actors, including Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor.
Crime branch officials arrested two men who allegedly posed as Income Tax and Department of Revenue Intelligence officers and duped some Bollywood actors, including Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor. After the accused admitted they have duped many other famous people, officials are in the process of finding out further information about the victims.
The accused are identified as Murali Mangilal Mundhera (36) and Mahesh Khetwani (41). According to the police complaint filed by the actors, the duo posed as officers of IT and DRI and entered the houses of Mr Dhawan, Ms Kapoor and Tiger Shroff. They demanded money from the actors, failing which they said they would conduct raids at their houses and offices. Following this the actors allegedly paid money to the tune thousands of rupees to the duo.
Officials said the accused targeted newcomers in the industry since they would be scared of IT raids and they could easily threaten them and swindle money. The incidents happened over a two-month period and the actors filed a complaint with the Mumbai police after they came to know the truth.
The Anti-extortion cell of the Mumbai police is investigating the case. Senior officials from the cell confirmed the development and said the investigation is going on.
Sources said the accused used to visit the IT department and used to talk to officials there to get an idea about their working style. An official said, “The accused admitted that they have duped many famous people in this way. We are in the process of finding out further information about the victims.”
