Fraudsters Hack Kamal Nath's Phone, Seek Rs 10 Lakh Each From 4 Party Men

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath's mobile phone was hacked by fraudsters who made calls to four party leaders and sought Rs 10 lakh from each of them, a party spokesman said on Wednesday.

Congress office-bearers caught two persons who allegedly made the calls and then came to collect money in the Malviya Nagar area, said the spokesman, adding the duo, who hailed from Gujarat, was handed over to the police.

The police detained the accused and interrogated them, but no formal complaint has been lodged, he said.

MP Congress committee's Media Department chairman KK Mishra told PTI that the accused hacked the phone of Mr Nath and asked for Rs 10 lakh each from party MLA Satish Sikarwar, treasure Ashok Singh, Indore city Congress president Surjeet Singh Chaddha and former treasurer Govind Goyal.

The fraud came to light when Mr Goyal cross-checked details of the call with some office-bearers and came to know that the former CM had not sought money from party members, he said.

Mr Goyal then decided to trap the fraudsters and redialed the number on which he had received request for money.

He asked the caller to come to his office located in the Malviya Nagar area and collect money from him, Mr Mishra said.

Congress office-bearers and workers apprehended two men, aged 25 and 28, who came to Goyal's office to collect money and handed them over to the police, he said.

He said a formal police complaint will be lodged soon.

Meanwhile, a police official told PTI that both the accused have been detained but no official complaint has been received. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)