A cyber fraud attempt has come to light in Kerala where an unidentified person allegedly tried to cheat Congress MLA Vidya Balakrishnan by promising her a ministerial position in exchange for ₹3 crore. However, the attempt failed after the MLA became suspicious and verified the details.

A complaint has been filed with the Cyber Cell, and police have started an investigation into the incident.

Fake Caller Claims Link With Priyanka Gandhi’s Office

According to reports, the incident took place on July 6, when Vidya Balakrishnan, the MLA from the Elathur Assembly constituency, received a WhatsApp call from an unknown person.

The caller, who spoke in English, introduced himself as Rajkumar and claimed that he was calling from the office of Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi.

The caller allegedly told the MLA that the state government was planning a cabinet reshuffle and claimed that he could help her secure a ministerial position. In return, he demanded ₹3 crore from her.

The fraudster also claimed that he had received the MLA’s phone number from a Member of Parliament from the same district, attempting to make the claim appear genuine.

MLA Suspected Fraud, Kept Caller Engaged

Vidya Balakrishnan reportedly suspected from the beginning that the call was a cyber fraud attempt. Instead of reacting immediately, she continued the conversation for around 10 minutes and questioned the caller about the process of becoming a minister.

During the conversation, the accused allegedly tried to explain a fake procedure to convince the MLA.

After ending the call, the MLA immediately contacted the MP whose name was mentioned by the caller. The MP informed her that he too had received a similar call earlier from a person claiming to represent the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters.

Priyanka Gandhi’s Office Denies Any Such Communication

The MP revealed that the caller had asked for the phone numbers of two legislators from the district. Following this, the MLA and the MP contacted Priyanka Gandhi’s official office to verify the claim.

The office clarified that no such call had been made from their side and confirmed that the communication was completely fake.

Police officials are now investigating the matter to identify the person behind the attempted cyber fraud and determine whether others were targeted using the same method.