Jaipur: A Jaipur-based govt office employee was allegedly conned out of Rs 1.70 lakh after cyber fraudsters kept him on a WhatsApp video call for nearly an hour, claiming his son—studying abroad—had been detained in a rape case. Police registered an FIR at Jalupura police station Sunday.Police said the victim received a WhatsApp video call around 11 am on Oct 2 while at his office in the Jalupura area. The caller’s profile displayed a police officer’s photograph and the caller identified himself as a cop, telling the man that his son had been picked up in the foreign country where he studies.Investigators said the scammers escalated the pressure with threats of harsh action and torture under that country’s laws. When the father pleaded for his son to be spared, they demanded Rs 1.70 lakh, claiming it was needed to “remove his name from the FIR,” a senior officer said.To make the narrative seem real, the complainant told police, the callers allegedly played audio suggesting the son was being assaulted and made the father speak to him on the video call while he appeared to be crying.Jalupura SHO Brijesh Singh said the victim was told to stay continuously on the call and was prevented from independently contacting his son. Under pressure, the man arranged funds from acquaintances and relatives and transferred Rs 1.70 lakh to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.After the transfer, the callers told him his son would be released soon and disconnected. Police said they are tracking the transactions and bank accounts used in the alleged fraud and are working on technical leads to identify the accused.
