2-year jail for Vizag man who impersonated TV actor Ravi Krishna on FB, cheated woman
The victim, a resident of Mallampet in Hyderabad, received a friend request on Facebook from a man claiming to be actor Ravi Krishna
By Newsmeter Network Published on 8 Feb 2021 1:04 PM GMT
Hyderabad: A special court convicted a fraudster and sentenced him to two years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000 against him on 5 February. The accused, Jambada Laxmi Varaprasad, of Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, had impersonated television actor Ravi Krishna and cheated a woman to the tune of over Rs. 2 lakhs.
The victim, a resident of Mallampet in Hyderabad, received a friend request on Facebook from a man claiming to be actor Ravi Krishna. She checked his FB page and thought it was genuine and accepted the request.
The same day, the impostor asked her to send selfies and nude photos. He also asked her to send Rs. 2,000. After a week, he again asked for Rs. 30,000. Then he started blackmailing her and threatened to upload her nude photos on social media with false allegations. Finally, she paid him Rs. 5,000. However, he asked for more money and in total took around Rs. 2,20,000.
A case was registered under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act and an investigation was launched. The police arrested the accused on 25 November 2019 and remanded him to judicial custody and filed a charge sheet.
Meanwhile, the police have warned people against accepting friend requests from unknown persons on social media or sending friend requests to unknown persons. "Some criminals/fraudsters may create a profile in the name of actors and other celebrities to attract and trap gullible youth. Be careful of such profiles. Do not share private and personal information on social media and never post any nude/semi-nude photos or videos. Never chat or video call with any unknown person on social media," the police advisory stated.
