Nigerian gang hacked OCAC CEO's WhatsApp account, says Odisha police

Bhubaneswar, Nov 17 The Odisha police has found the involvement of a group from Nigeria in hacking the WhatsApp account of the CEO of the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC), an official said on Wednesday.

A few days ago, the WhatsApp account of OCAC CEO Manoj Kumar Pattnaik was hacked and the fraudster demanded money from his relatives by impersonating him.

Five contacts of Pattnaik transferred Rs 7 lakh to the bank accounts shared by the fraudster.

Taking cognisance of the offence, the Crime Branch of Odisha police took over the case.

Speaking to mediapersons, Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Crime Branch, Sanjeeb Panda said the Delhi police have recently arrested the mastermind of a Nigerian gang, who committed a similar crime in the national capital.

One of the associates of the gang has committed cyber fraud in Odisha, he said.

The mastermind was arrested earlier this month prior to the hacking of the WhatsApp account of the OCAC CEO. So, his associate, who is now in Bengaluru, is behind the hacking, Panda said.

"We are in touch with Delhi Police to get the Nigerian national. Very soon, we will send a team to Bengaluru for further investigation into the case," the ADG informed.

As the Delhi Police are already investigating similar cases, the Odisha police will collect more information from the former about the modus operandi of such criminals, Panda said.

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