On Saturday (March 3), a 23-year-old man was arrested for duping a person in Telangana in the name of Bollywood actor Sonu Sood.
As per a report in Business Today, the miscreant has been identified as Ashish Kumar Singh. A resident of Muzzafarpur in Bihar, Ashish was arrested by the cybercrime unit of the Cyberabad police. He had posted his number on social media and claimed that he was the advisor to the actor’s company, Sonu Sood Corporation. Ashish impersonated as the actor’s associate, even though he was not connected to the company. The accused then duped a man from Telangana to the tune of ₹60,000.
The matter came to light after the victim filed a complaint with the police on March 3. He wanted to help the poor people in Telangana and learnt that the actor had been helping those, who were affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. He found the contact details of his company, including a phone number. On dialling the number, Ashish picked up the call and claimed that Sonu Sood would make a donation of ₹50,000 for the cause. He, however, said that such a contribution was only possible if the complainant deposited ₹8300 as registration charges.
The accused then made a follow-up call and claimed that Sonu Sood was willing to make a donation of ₹3.6 lac in exchange for a fee of ₹60,000. The complainant ended up paying the new registration charges in the hopes of the actor making the generous contribution. He later realised that he had been duped. Following this, he registered a complaint with the police. While speaking about the matter, Sonu Sood cautioned, “People must be wary of a gang claiming to work for a charity run by me. I urge people not to entertain such online requests for donation,”
Sonu Sood’s philanthropy
During the lockdown that was imposed to curb the pandemic, many migrant workers who live and work in other states were stuck as buses, trains and flights came to a halt. Later, the government arranged for Shramik Express to facilitate the migrant workers to go to their home states. Many individuals, like Sonu Sood, also came forward to help migrants reach home.
In September last year, Sonu Sood ‘promised help’ to 350 boatsmen in Varanasi. He made the promise while responding to viral images. Some videos were shared on social media where claims were made that the boatsmen in Varanasi are facing financial crunch and that as many as 350 families are forced to sleep hungry. However, the truth was far from what is propagated.
Speaking to OpIndia, members of Nishad community clarified how they have never had to beg for food and the media reports of 350 families being hungry are all rumours. Local councillor Narsingh Das was engaged in distributing ration even when OpIndia contacted him.
