Overview
- Police in a joint Special Task Force operation arrested Abhishek Bhopalka in Patna after he allegedly posed as the Enforcement Directorate chief to pressure the Bhojpur district magistrate over a call.
- The district magistrate found the WhatsApp call suspicious and alerted authorities, which led to an FIR in Ara and a technical trace that pinpointed the caller’s location in Patna.
- Officers said they seized Rs 2.61 lakh in cash and the mobile phone used in the calls during the arrest.
- Investigators described Bhopalka as a repeat offender who in 2022 impersonated the Patna High Court chief justice to call then state police chief S. K. Singhal, a case handled by the Economic Offences Unit.
- The Special Task Force is now checking for other officials who may have been duped, using call records and tower data common in such probes into identity fraud that exploit WhatsApp voice calls.