The police said the accused might potentially feature among the top 20 cheating cases reported across Kerala.
Arrest (Representational image/Creative Commons)
In a significant breakthrough, the Kerala Police have apprehended a person they described as a master conman who orchestrated elaborate schemes to swindle crores of rupees from unsuspecting victims.
The arrest came after an intensive one-and-a-half-year pursuit by a team of officers who tracked down the elusive fraudster, said the cops, calling him a “shadowy figure”.
It was on Monday, 25 March, that a special team from the Alappuzha district police nabbed Muhammad Ashiq alias Aamir Mustafa from Salem in Tamil Nadu.
According to the police, what made this case even more intriguing was the background of the accused, who halted his formal education at the eighth standard yet possessed a sophisticated understanding of not leaving behind digital footprints.
The police said the “criminal mastermind” utilised his skills to allure people and execute his fraudulent activities with precision.
The special team is also said to have approached the Unique Identification Authority of India to verify his Aadhaar details.
“His modus operandi was nothing short of cunning,” an officer from the special team told South First.
He added, “Presenting himself as the managing director of a reputed foreign company, he promised lucrative job opportunities abroad in exchange for hefty sums of money. His persuasive tactics and ability to manipulate digital trails made him a formidable challenge despite scores of complaints against him.”
According to the officer, Muhammad used stolen identities for mobile numbers to contact the victims and never encouraged them to carry out digital transactions.
He was also said to have established contact with the victims using false identities and appointed his so-called trustees to collect money from them.
“This man knew how to reach out to job-seekers. For this, he approaches website designers, Facebook page designers, and others to create fake pages of companies, it could be a chocolate manufacturing unit, hotel chain unit, or others. He also created fake offer letters and seals,” added the officer.
Highlighting the scale and impact of his fraudulent operations, the officer told South First: “His name could potentially feature among the top 20 cheating cases reported in Kerala.”
According to the Punnapra Police Station’s Police Sub Inspector (PSI) Ananth, the financial losses incurred by his victims might run into crores of rupees.
“It was in August 2022 that we received [the first] complaints of cheating. We have been chasing this man since then,” said Ananth to South First.
“However, the last two months were critical. We were engaged in location-tracking and confirming his whereabouts,” he added.
At the same time, sources said Muhammad — who was arrested by the Malappuram Police in connection with a cheating case earlier — went absconding in February 2021 and remained at large till 25 March.
“That means he evaded the police for the last three years,” said the officer from the special team.
“What happened at Malappuram is that he faked health issues when in jail and got himself admitted to a hospital in Manjeri. He escaped from there and executed his fraudulent activities with precision,” he added.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
Apr 27, 2024
Apr 27, 2024
Apr 27, 2024
Apr 27, 2024
Apr 27, 2024
Apr 27, 2024
