Badshah Confessed That He Bought 7.2 Crore Views: Mumbai Police

Badhshah was questioned for over 9 hours.

Rapper Badshah

(Photo: IANS)

After rapper Badshah was questioned by Mumbai Crime Branch's Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) in relation to the ‘fake followers’ racket, the police officials say that he confessed to having 'bought' 7.2 crore views for Rs 72 lakh for his song 'Pagal Hai', in a bid to set a world record.

As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, the rapper claimed that 'Pagal Hai' received 75 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its release last year. The claim was rejected by Alphabet, which owns YouTube as well as Google.

According to the crime branch officials, the singer admitted that he had paid a company Rs 72 lakh, including 18 per cent service tax, to generate views on social media.

The racket was unearthed after singer Bhumi Trivedi filed a complaint on 11 July after someone had created a fake profile on Instagram, using her name, pictures and videos.

They were also allegedly trying to scam others. This led the police to unearth a racket which sells fake followers and likes to celebrities and influencers by creating fake social media profiles. As of now, two arrests have been made and more are sure to follow.

Police officials said that the sale of followers and likes is a serious criminal issue since it promotes fake news and misinformation.

The illegal companies sell them to social media stars who in turn charge higher fees for endorsement of products. This is prevalent across many platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Badshah, who has 5.9 million followers on Instagram, is the first high-profile celebrity to be interrogated. Reports suggest that Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone may soon be called in by the police.

(With inputs from PTI)