IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Aug 10:
After questioning the rapper “Badshah”, in connection with the fake social media followers case on Friday, the officers of the Mumbai Police crime branch said that the rapper confessed to buying fake views for his video song ‘Paagal’ for Rs 72 Lakh in a bid to break a viewership record.
Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, alias “Badshah”, confessed that he wanted to set a world record for the most number of viewers in 24 hours on “YouTube”. That is why he paid Rs 72 lakh to this company,” DCP Nandkumar Thakur said.
Badshah, who has several Bollywood hits to his credit, was first summoned by the Mumbai police on 3rd August. However, he could not record his statement on the said date after which he was asked to appear on Thursday. He was questioned again on Friday.
But Badshah, denied the police’s claim, and said that he had made it clear to the Mumbai Police that he was never involved in such practices. “Following the summons, I have spoken to the Mumbai Police. I have aided the officials in their investigation by cooperating and carrying out the due diligence on my part. I’ve categorically denied all the allegations levelled against me and made it clear that I was never involved in such practices, nor do I condone them,” he said.
The said song had garnered 75 million views in the first 24 hours of its release and defeated the previous record for the most views in 24 hours set by “Taylor Swift” and the Korean boy band “BTS”. The Mumbai Police officials have claimed that Badshah confessed to paying for 7.2 crore views.
Aditya Prateek Singh Sisodia, alias “Badshah” is being investigated, since his official Instagram account @badboyshah has witnessed a huge increase in the number of followers. He has many hits to his credit including ‘Taarefan’ and ‘DJ Wale Babu’. His video ‘Genda Phool’ has been a remarkable hit.
In their investigation so far, Mumbai Police officials have found that a few Bollywood stars, sports persons and high profile people have allegedly paid to get fake followers on social media.
Last month, CIU busted a racket, where fake followers and views were being bought by several celebs, in violation of the Information Technology Act (IT Act). The matter came to light after singer Bhoomi Trivedi registered a complaint with the police on 11 July, about a fake Instagram account, she found on social media. The investigation led police to a business based on identity theft.
So far two people have been arrested and a total of 20 people have been questioned by the Mumbai police so far in the Fake social media followers case. After the scam surfaced, a Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) comprising of Mumbai Police Crime Branch and Mumbai Police Cyber Cell, was formed. The investigation is headed by DCP Nandkumar Thakur with former encounter specialist Sachin Vaze as the chief investigating officer.
