Host Gaurav Kapur summoned by Mumbai Police in regards to buying fake followers

In the modern era, the usage of social media has notched up to a new scale altogether. There have been many prominent faces on the internet who have abundant followers on Instagram as well as Twitter. At a time when the amount of followers on social media has become a parameter to judge a celebrity’s fan-following, several reports about people buying fake followers have been doing rounds over the internet.

Several reports have indicated that at least 10 celebrities have spent dollars to acquire services of companies which offer fake followers as well as likes and tweets. Several high-profile celebrities like Bollywood stars, sports personalities as well as builders pay a certain amount to buy followers, subscribers and comments across social media platforms.

Playback singer Bhumi Trivedi had filed a complaint on July 11

The suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput had taken the Bollywood industry by storm in June. Bollywood never fails to grab the headlines and the emergence of fake followers has now evolved into a trending topic. Fake social media followers scam has hogged the limelight in recent times and popular names– host Gaurav Kapoor and RJ Roshan Abbas– have also been questioned regarding the same.

An actor and television host, Kapur also owns a dedicated sports media and production agency. While Roshan Abbas, regarded as one of India’s finest storytellers and RJs, is the head of an events management company.

Playback singer Bhumi Trivedi, at the start of the month, had reported a social media marketing fraud, filing a complaint on July 11. Following Bhumi’s complaint, CEO of Chtrbox, Pranay Swaroop was called by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. However, he failed to show up and cited COVID-19 for his absence.

Mumbai Police have now summoned host and actor Gaurav Kapur as well as RJ Roshan Abbas in regards to the fake followers’ scam, as reported by Zee News. Mumbai Police’s move came after Swaroop was questioned on Saturday where he disclosed that he has 30,000 clients under his influencer marketing firm. According to reports, he was also asked to provide details of his clients and his company’s income.

The fake followers’ scam has not spared Bollywood too as a few prominent faces like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone were also likely to be questioned regarding the same. However, there has been no development yet.

“Mumbai Police SIT has verified 25 people till now. A few of them have recorded their statements as witnesses in this case as of now,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nandkumar Thakur, Crime Branch, as quoted by The Print.