Fake social media followers row: Rapper Badshah under fire, questioned by Mumbai cops for 9 hrs

Millions of followers and all the love only matter when it is real'. In the virtual world with fake identities floating around it's hard to know which ones to count on. In a new fake followers scam, cybercrime charges have been filed against 54 companies.

In connection to the crime, Indian rapper Badshah who has delivered some brilliant hits was interrogated on Friday. The Mumbai Police had questioned the music star for over 9 hours, reports said.

Badshah questioned by Mumbai Police

It was earlier reported that the Mumbai Police would question Badshah with regard to the fake followers' row. He was spotted at the Crime Intelligence Unit at 12:30 pm and was seen stepping out at 9:45 pm. That's not all he will be further questioned on Saturday afternoon as well.

The case is regarding companies that sell and create fake social media 'followers' and 'likes' using bots. This is often used by celebrities and influencers to ramp up their stats and numbers. The case came to light when Bhumi Trivedi had reported a fake follower to the police. 

This has been considered a serious issue of cybercrime and Mumbai Police have been investigating 54 suspected companies in the case. So far, the police have found as many as 176 personalities paying for fake social media followers and 'likes'. 

This proves virality can be bought. The police are interrogating Badshah who happens to be one of the few Indian music celebrities to get millions of views on every video. However, the videos usually get far lesser comments. Reports say that the police have over 238 questions to ask the celebrity on the matter. The police have also asked for a list of his followers.

Further details on the investigation are awaited.