Published Jul 16, 2026 | 5:18 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 16, 2026 | 5:18 PM
Shafi Parambil, Vidya Balakrishnan, Dean Kuriakose
Synopsis: Police have found that the same caller who allegedly offered Elathur MLA Vidya Balakrishnan a Kerala Cabinet berth for ₹3 crore also made similar calls to Congress MPs Shafi Parambil and Dean Kuriakose. The development has led police to suspect that the calls were part of an organised fraud, with parallel investigations now under way in Kozhikode and Wayanad.
Days after an anonymous caller on WhatsApp offered Elathur MLA Vidya Balakrishnan a Kerala Cabinet berth for the modest price of ₹3 crore, police confirmed that similar calls had been made to Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil and Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose from the same number (9540575524).
The Kalpetta Cyber Police on Wednesday, 15 July, registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by DS Rajkumar, private secretary to Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, alleging that unknown persons had impersonated officials from the MP’s office to cheat elected representatives.
The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, which deals with cheating by personation using computer resources.
The Kozhikode Cyber Cell had already launched an investigation after Vidya Balakrishnan complained about the suspicious WhatsApp call she received on 6 July. Wayanad Police are now conducting a parallel investigation into the matter.
Police are examining whether the incident is an isolated act of mischief or part of a more organised impersonation and online cheating network.
Congress leaders, meanwhile, said the fraudsters may have assumed such offers would appear believable because allegations of money-for-post deals have surfaced in some states in the past.
Also Read: Kerala seeks tougher censorship rules for films glorifying drugs, violence
The caller identified himself as “Rajkumar” from Priyanka Gandhi’s office and, according to the complaints, claimed that the Kerala Cabinet would be reshuffled soon. He allegedly said ministerial berths could be secured by paying ₹3 crore.
It is learnt that Balakrishnan was the first to receive the call. She was reportedly told that an MP from Kozhikode district had shared her phone number.
After growing suspicious, Balakrishnan is understood to have gone along with the conversation, conducted entirely in English, indicating that she would arrange the money before ending the call. She subsequently contacted the MP whose name the caller had cited.
The MP reportedly clarified that someone claiming to be from the AICC headquarters had earlier called seeking the contact numbers of two Congress leaders from the district, suggesting that the fraudsters may have first obtained the phone numbers through deception before making the WhatsApp calls.
Balakrishnan had earlier said she chose not to publicise the incident immediately because she did not want to alert those responsible while the investigation was in progress.
She said she filed the complaint at the direction of the party leadership and to ensure those behind the scam were brought to justice. She added that any further response on the issue would come from the party leadership.
The same offer was also made to Shafi Parambil and Dean Kuriakose.
“In my case, the caller, identifying himself as Rajkumar, tried to convince me that since the Idukki Parliamentary Constituency consists of seven Assembly constituencies and the Congress won five of them, it did not have representation in the Cabinet,” Kuriakose said.
“He then said that, to rectify that, I could suggest a name. But before he made any monetary demand, I ended the call. As I know the real Rajkumar well, I alerted him. He told me that similar fraudulent offers had been made to Vidya and Shafi.”
Also Read: After 24 years, Kerala rewrites Vigilance Manual to match changing face of corruption
Following preliminary inquiries, the Kozhikode Cyber Cell said the WhatsApp calls may have been made using a “mule SIM”, misusing a phone number registered in someone else’s name to conceal the caller’s identity.
Police also said they traced the apparent origin of the call to Delhi during the initial stage of the investigation, though officials are yet to establish who was actually behind the operation.
A cybersecurity expert with Cyberdome, an online network of technical experts, ethical hackers and cybersecurity professionals who assist the Kerala Police in preventing cybercrime, said the use of so-called “mule SIMs” or “mule phone numbers” has become a common tactic in organised online fraud, allowing criminals to conceal their identities while making calls appear genuine.
According to the expert, a mule SIM is a mobile connection obtained in the name of one person but controlled by someone else.
Fraudsters typically procure such SIMs by persuading unsuspecting people to complete KYC formalities in return for a small payment, stealing identity documents to obtain connections fraudulently, or convincing individuals to hand over their existing SIM cards under false pretences.
“The person making the call is often not the subscriber in whose name the SIM is registered. That creates an additional layer between investigators and the actual fraudster,” the expert added.
The expert said such numbers serve multiple purposes. Since they are linked to genuine identities, they are less likely to trigger spam filters or immediately arouse suspicion among recipients.
At the same time, if a complaint is filed, the initial investigation leads to the registered subscriber rather than the person actually operating the number, making it more difficult to identify those orchestrating the fraud.
Cybersecurity professionals also note that organised scam networks routinely discard compromised SIM cards once they attract police attention and quickly move to fresh numbers, allowing their operations to continue with minimal disruption.
Meanwhile, the greatest risk is borne by the person in whose name the SIM is registered.
“If a phone connection issued in your name is used for financial fraud or other cybercrime, you may find yourself under police scrutiny. Even if you had no role in the offence, you could be questioned extensively and may have to establish that you were not involved. Handing over your SIM card or allowing someone else to obtain a connection using your identity documents can have serious legal consequences,” the expert warned.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
