CHENNAI

From luxurious hotel to jail in two days, three ‘private firm executives’ in trouble

The three drank expensive alcohol, ate good food, raising a bill to the tune of Rs 25,000

Published: 22nd December 2022 06:53 AM | Last Updated: 22nd December 2022 06:53 AM

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The best things in life are free, right? S Sivaraman (31) from Maraimalai Nagar, J Venkat (37) from Peerkankaranai and S Srinath (37) from Urapakkam, sure thought so. They posed as executives of a private company and stayed at a luxury hotel in the city suburbs for two days and racked up a bill of Rs 25,038, which their company was to pay, but there was no such company.

It all began with an e-mail to the hotel on Saturday evening. The mail said three executives of a (fake) company would stay at the hotel. The e-mail also said the company would settle the bill at the end of the stay. As planned, Sivaraman, Venkat and Srinath arrived at the luxury hotel in Kilambakkam near Urapakkam on Sunday afternoon. The three men drank expensive alcohol and ate good food, said the police. At the end of their stay, the bill was Rs 25,038.

When the hotel management presented the bill, the men claimed that the company promised to take care of the expenses and an e-mail was sent to the hotel in this regard. Hotel manager T Richard (42), who found the men suspicious, asked them to wait and tried to respond to the e-mail and contact the mobile number, but to no avail.

Finding their act suspicious, Richard informed the police and stalled them. Meanwhile, the three men who grew impatient threatened Richard and allegedly hit him. Guduvanchery police reached the spot and arrested the three men.

After a preliminary investigation, police found out that the trio had tried to con the hotel management with a fake company name and fraudulent e-mail id. They were booked on charges of cheating, breach of trust, criminal intimidation and causing hurt. They were remanded in judicial custody after being produced in court.

CRIME

 

DIGITAL FRAUD

 

THIEF SEEKS E PAYMENT TO RETURN MOBILES

 

TECHNOLOGY

 

BHOPAL NEWS

 

MEDICAL STUDENT

 

 WOMEN UNDER ATTACK

37-year-old dentist raped on marriage lure

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TIMES N EWS N ETWORK

30.01.2022

Bhopal: A 33-year-old fruit vendor was booked for allegedly raping a 37-year-old dentist on the promise of marriage. The dentist who married to a Patna based man separated from her husband a year after their marriage.

The woman alleged that she has been living in the city with her son at her parent’s place and the accused was raping her for the last three years. When the woman pressured him to marry her, the accused refused and left abusing her. Subsequently, the woman reported the matter to Jehangirabad police. Acting on her complaint police registered a rape case against the accused on Friday and started investigations.

Investigation officer SI Riddhi Sharma said that the survivor, is a dentist but does not practice. In 2017 she came in contact with accused Mohammed Javed, 33, who is a fruit vendor in Jehangirabad.

The accused lured her in his trap and befriended her. In 2018, he called her to meet at his place in Jehangirabad saying that he loved her and would take care of her son. When she went to meet him, the accused raped her on the promise of marriage and repeatedly raped her since then.

Maha man falls for ‘₹100 thali for free’ offer, loses ₹1L in card fraud

 Maha man falls for ‘₹100 thali for free’ offer, loses ₹1L in card fraud

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V.Narayan@timesgroup.com

23.01.2022

Mumbai: An elderly man from Khar lost ₹99,520 on his credit card after he fell prey to a hoax ad promising delivery of a thali for ₹100, along with two thalis free. The 74-year-old victim,ND Nand, thought it was a safe bet as the ad stated that he would only have to pay an advance of ₹10 by credit card, and then pay the remaining ₹90 in cash upon delivery. 

Instead, his card was charged twice for ₹49,760. The fraud took place on January 19, when Nand was browsing on Facebook and came across an ad offering a thali at an inaugural price of ₹100. Tempted by the deal, Nand called the number listed on the ad. In the complaint, Nand said, “A person identifying himself as Deepak attended the call and asked me to provide him with my credit card details to place the order. He told me that initially ₹10 would be deducted and I have to pay ₹90 in cash once the order was delivered. The person then asked me to share the one-time password that I received to complete the order. ”

A police officer said Nand realisedthathe hadbeenduped immediately after he received two SMS alerts related to the fraudulent transactions that wer e carried out from his credit card.

 

Nurse accuses colleague of rape in Bhopal

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16.01.2022

Bhopal: A 27-year-old woman, student who is pursuing a nursing course, on Friday filed a complaint against her former colleague and live-in partner for exploiting her and raping her on the promise of marriage. Recently, when the accused refused to marry her, the woman reported the matter to police.

Acting on her complaint, Kolar police registered a rape case against the accused and started investigations.

Investigation officer SI  Preksha Mourya said that the survivor, 27,told police that in July 2019, while working at a private They became friends and soon, the accused lured her into his trap saying that they would get married. He offered her to move into a live-in relationship with him so that they could know each other well.

Mourya said that the woman alleged that in August 2019, she moved into a live-in relationship with the accused at a rented house in Kolar locality. He repeatedly raped her on the promise of marriage. Whenever she asked him for marriage, he made excuses saying marriage will be after completing their MSc.

The woman alleged that on December 22 last year, the accused made an excuse that he was not feeling well and went to his village. When she contacted him, he told her that his family members were not ready for their marriage. He blocked her phone number. When she called his family members, they refused to speak on the subject. Feeling cheated, the woman approached cops. Police have registered a case.

TNN

Researcher, boy friend kill stalker on city road

Researcher, boy friend kill stalker on city road

Sindhu.Kannan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:31.12.2021

A 26-year-old research student and her boyfriend have been arrested on charges of stabbing an engineering college employee multiple times in broad daylight at Kelambakkam on Thursday, killing him on the spot.

Police identified the accused as J Desapriya, a research scholar in physics in a private college in Kalavakkam, andherfriend S Arun Pandian, 27, a research scholar in a uni- versity in Kattankulathur. Police said they killed K Senthil, 43, an employee of the university in Kattankulathur, because he nagged the woman to marry him though he was married for seven years.

After the stabbing on a road near the college, bystanders chased and nabbed the couple, andhanded them overto police.

Married Senthil kept stalking Desapriya

Police said Desapriya and Senthil were known to each other since the time she was doing her graduation in the university in Kattankulathur. She broke up with him after she came to know that Senthil was already married. However, Senthil kept stalking Desapriya and kept asking her to marry him, claiming that he could convince his wife saying that since they remained childless for seven years he was forced to marry Desapriya.

“WhenDesapriya started to avoid him during the lockdown, Senthil threatened her saying he would upload their old photos online,” said an investigating officer. Desapriya reported the matter to Arun Pandian. Police said the duo had planned to take Senthil to a secluded place and murder him. Around 1.30pm on Thursday, Desapriya called S enthil to come to her college.
The two were talking when Arun Pandian joined them. Quoting eyewitnesses, police said after a heated argument among the trio, Desapriya and Arun Pandian slit Senthil’s throat.

When Senthil started his bike and tried to escape, they chased him and stabbed him repeatedly with two knives until he bled to death on the spot.

Bharatpur man kills dad to claim ₹4 lakh as insurance

Bharatpur man kills dad to claim ₹4 lakh as insurance

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Jaipur:28.12.2021

A 30-year-old man from a Bharatpur village along with his two friends killed his father to claim insurance money of Rs 4 lakh.

The youth, Rajesh Singh, had purchased four insurance policies in the name of his father, identified as Mohkam Singh, with a total insurance claim of Rs 4 lakh after his death. According to Deeg police, who had arrested the accused on December 25 after the trio were found in suspicious circumstances near Kosi, the murder was made to look like an accident.

The three were caught by a Deeg police patrol when they tried to hide themselves in the Kosi area from the cops.

‘No marks on lower back, shoulders that are usually found in road accident’

Jaipur: “When our team was passing, they hid themselves behind a tree. They were unable to give satisfactory replies to our questions. We arrested them for disturbing peace,” Deeg SHO Rajesh Pathak said. Later, on Sunday, the police found the bloodstained body of Mohkam Singh on the road near Kosi.

“Prima facie it appeared to be an accident. However, it was found that except for some head injuries, the body did not have even a single mark on the lower back or shoulders which is usual in road accidents. So, we suspected it to be a murder. We enquired about his relatives and were told that Singh had a son who was in the village itself. Soon, we found that Rajesh Singh, the deceased’s son , was already lodged in our police station for disturbing peace. We interrogated him and he confessed to the crime,” Pathak said.

“The three persons, Rajesh (30), Vijendra (25) and Kanha (26), who were arrested by us for disturbing peace, had committed the murder,” he said. Asked about the details of the crime, Pathak said, “Rajesh’s brother had died in a road accident a year ago when he was working in Faridabad as a delivery boy. Following his death, his wife had received a lot of money as insurance. This prompted Rajesh to insure his father and kill him to claim the money by making it look like an accident.”

“Soon, we found that Rajesh Singh, the deceased’s son, was already lodged in our police station for disturbing peace. We interrogated him and he confessed to the crime,” Deeg SHO said

Murder of college student: Three girls among 9 arrested

Murder of college student: Three girls among 9 arrested

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.12.2021

The Tiruvallur police on Thursday arrested nine people including three minor girls for the murder of a Mannivakkam college student whose body was exhumed at Eechangadu near Arambakkam on Saturday.

Police said that the arrested minor girls — two school students and one from a college — were sent to an observation home. While the main accused — Ashok Kumar, 21, of Kandigai village and Levin, 22 of Red Hills — surrendered on Tuesday, the other accused were identified as Moses, 21, Stephan, 21, Praveen Kumar, 21, and Jeganadhan, 20, of Ponneri. Police said they were employed at factories in the locality.

The deceased college student — Premkumar of Mannivakkam, — threatened the two schoolgirls with recordings of their phone conversations and a few videos and extorted ₹50,000 from each. He even warned that he would show up at their houses if they did not part with the money.

One of the girls then approached her elder sister, a college student, who in turn sought help from Ashok Kumar, her Instagram friend, police said.

As instructed by Ashok Kumar, the girls asked Prem Kumar to come to an appointed spot in Red Hills. They had asked him to erase their photographs and phone recordings in Prem Kumar’s possession, but he and his friends kidnapped Prem Kumar on a two-wheeler and took him to Eachangadu where the gang members smoked ganja. Premkumar’s friend, who accompanied him to the spot, fled and after Ashok and the others began to attack Prem Kumar. “The girls were part of the crime as they did not approach us till the body was exhumed,” said an officer.

The girls were also part of the crime as they did not approach police till the body was exhumed, said an officer

Man held for booking train tickets illegally

Man held for booking train tickets illegally

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 23.12.2021

The owner of an internet browsing centre was arrested on Wednesday for cheating the IRCTC of ₹5 lakh by booking train tickets through an online portal at Tondiarpet. The arrested was Sakthivel, 30, of Nethaji Nagar Main Road in Tondiarpet, the owner of Shakthi Internet Browsing Centre. Inquiries revealed that Sakthivel created more than 50 fake e-mail IDs and booked train tickets illegally.

Based on a tip from an RPF personnel, a team led by the sub-RPF inspectors of police Sasi Booshan Kumar and Rajasekar, apprehended the suspect. The team conducted a detailed search at his browsing centre and seized at least 244 train tickets worth ₹1.85 lakh, a computer, printer, and a mobile phone. Inquiries revealed that Sakthivel had swindled more than ₹5 lakh through the illegal train ticket booking system over the past 10 months.

₹2.5k graft accepted via UPI app in Hisar

₹2.5k graft accepted via UPI app in Hisar

Hisar:  22.12.2021

The district vigilance bureau on Tuesday arrested Navneet, reader of tehsildar H K Gupta, claiming that he had accepted Rs 2,500 as bribe through Google Pay to verify the registration of an intercaste love marriage.

Police are interrogating the accused and will take him to court on Wednesday. Vigilance inspector Dharambir Dahiya said Navneet of Hisar’s Bure village had been booked under the Corruption Act on the complaint of Landhari villager Lakshman, who had an inter-caste love marriage, to register which, he had application with the Tehsildar’s office.

The reader Navneet allegedly had demanded Rs 3,000 as bribe from him but settled for Rs 2500, which he had accepted through Google Pay, the inspector has said. TNN

Man uses pvt pics to blackmail schoolgirls, they get him killed

Man uses pvt pics to blackmail schoolgirls, they get him killed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:21.12.2021

The Arambakkam police on Monday detained two Class X students from Chengalpet in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old college student, who was blackmailing the girls using intimate photographs he had taken.

The body of Premkumar of Otteri was found buried at Eachangadu village in Tiruvallur on Sunday after villagers alerted police on spotting hair and bloodied teeth at a deserted location. Police said investigations led them to the two girls, who had paid Premkumar ₹50,000 each over the last year after he threatened to publish their photos online. He befriended them on Instagram and neither was initially aware they were involved with the same man.

Unable to handle the blackmailer’s pressure, the girls asked Ashok, another youth they had befriended recently on Instagram, to help them snatch Premkumar’s phone and delete the photos. Police said Ashok and three of his friends from Red Hills used the girls to lure Premkumar to Sholavaram toll plaza on Friday morning and kidnapped him. Later that night, Ashok and another friend took Premkumar to Eechangadu where they allegedly murdered and buried him. “We have launched a hunt for Ashok. Only after we nab him will we know what exactly happened,” said an investigating officer.

Premkumar’s body was handed over to his family on Monday after autopsy at Government Stanley Hospital.

Fake degrees scams busted in Rajkot

Fake degrees scams busted in Rajkot

TNN | Dec 13, 2021, 04.10 AM IST

RAJKOT: Two rackets of making and selling fake educational degree certificates and markets were busted in Rajkot with the police arresting three persons including a woman.

The degree certificates were made for students who were aspiring to go to Canada for further studies or immigrate.

The special operations group (SOG) sources said that over a dozen bogus MBA certificates were seized from the accused during the raid that was conducted by the cops a fortnight ago. The cops said that further investigations may lead to more arrests in the case.

The SOG sleuths had nabbed Paras Khajuria near his house on Vidyanagar Road after they received a tip-off that he was selling bogus degree certificates. When his two-wheeler was checked, the investigators found 11 degree certificates of MBA and marksheets. The degrees were from Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Agra and Allahabad University.

“We sent the degrees to the respective universities to ascertain if they were genuine. On Saturday, we got the reply from the universities that the degree certificates were fake following which we arrested Khajuria,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Manoharsinh Jadeja. Khajuria is a visa agent and helps aspiring students to immigrate to Canada.

Apart from providing service to genuine clients, Khajuria used to look for the aspirants who wanted to immigrate but didn’t have an MBA degree that helps in getting more points for permanent residence (PR) in Canada. He was engaged in the racket of making bogus degrees for the last six years. When asked how he managed to get fake degrees, Khajuria said that Darshan Kotak, a resident of Ahmedabad, used to send him the degrees,” Jadeja added.

Khajuria used to charge anywhere between Rs 70,000 to Rs one lakh per degree from the aspirants. He used to keep half the money and send the rest to Kotak who too has been booked by the police for fraud.

Police also booked Vaibhav Patadia, Apurva Patel and Viral Goradia in whose names the seized certificates were issued. Khajuria has been sent to one day of police custody by the court. Vaibhav, who was looking to get more points in PR, too has been arrested.

In a separate case of bogus certificates, a 35-year-old woman too has been arrested from the city. Dharmishta Makadia, a resident of Sadhu Vasvani Road, was making fake MBA degrees for the last one year. Police seized five bogus degrees and seven photocopies from her. “The fake degrees were in the name of William Carey University based in Meghalaya. She used to charge Rs 70,000 per degree certificate,” Jadeja said.

Police said was earlier booked in Maharashtra too for the similar crime.

Makadia told the investigators that a Delhi-based man Prakash Yadav, who was her Facebook friend, used to send her fake degrees. She claimed that Yadav gave her the idea of how to execute the racket. Police also booked Malti Trivedi and Maulik Jasani, in whose names the bogus certificates seized from Makadia, were issued. She has been remanded to one day of police custody by the court.

Bizman duped of ₹1L by man posing as customer care executive of courier firm

Bizman duped of ₹1L by man posing as customer care executive of courier firm

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  10.12.2021

A 35-year-old storekeeper was allegedly duped by unidentified accused posing as the customer care operator of a courier company. The storekeeper was looking for the customer care number of the courier company to track a package dispatched from Surat. He got a fake number online, and the fraudster sent him a link to transfer Rs 3. When the victim clicked on t he link and entered his bank details, the accused hacked his smartphone using a remote access application and siphoned of Rs 1.02 lakh from his two bank accounts in five minutes.

The victim approached the cyber-crime branch and filed a complaint. The cybercrime branch registered a Zero FIR and transferred the case diary to Kolar police station where a case was registered against unidentified accused on Wednesday.

Complainant Mukesh Sen, 35, a resident of Damkheda A-Sector in Kolar, works as a storekeeper in a lift company for the past 12 years. He told police that on November 30, he was waiting for a parcel sent from Surat through a courier service. The delivery was delayed so he searched for the courier agency customer care number to track the parcel.

Offered easy money through an app? It could well be a trap

Offered easy money through an app? It could well be a trap

Multi-level marketing scams have donned an online avatar. Instead of pamphlets and posters, scammers use messages, audio and videos to trap people.

Published: 25th November 2021 06:58 AM 

EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

By Gautham Selvarajan

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Multi-level marketing scams have donned an online avatar. Instead of pamphlets and posters, scammers use messages, audio and videos to trap people. For example, there are apps that promise high returns on investments. On registering, you get a referral code to share with your friends. And once they register, you get paid. Then they, in turn, invest and get referral codes to share.

These apps claim your investment goes towards a particular project, and the returns will be given to you. But that doesn’t always happen, explains Srikanth Lakshmanan, a researcher tracking digital payments and fraud. The scammers go to great lengths to make their companies appear legitimate. They pay the first level of people who join or sign up, and through them, attract others. But once more people join and invest, the returns stop, says Lakshmanan.

One such company used the name ‘World Bank’ to cheat people in the guise of angel funding. It created several groups on online messaging platforms, and uploaded pictures of people and pamphlets to convince victims. Once it was found to be a scam, the World Bank had to put out a warning to caution people, he points out.

Recently, a software engineer from Chennai invested in a similar app, received a referral code, and shared it with his friends, who then followed his footsteps. He received returns in his account on the app for each person who used his code. But when he sought to withdraw the money, the app and company stopped responding. Ultimately, he had to pay back the people he led to invest in the app.

Many such apps are available on online app stores, but most of the ones used by scammers can only be downloaded from the links they send, says a senior cyber crime officer, adding that the only way to be immune to such frauds is to stay aware. This means being cautious about apps and links that scammers may ask you to use.

And if you happen to fall prey to such frauds, report it immediately, says the officer. “The quicker you report it to the police, the easier it is to freeze the culprit’s account.” Once an issue is reported, network providers, banks, and cybercrime officials work together to crack the case. “Even if the culprit is not apprehended, at least there’s a chance of tracing the funds,” the officer adds.

(To report any kind of cyber crime, dial 155260)

2 goat thieves hack cop to death, CM announces ₹1 crore solatium

2 goat thieves hack cop to death, CM announces ₹1 crore solatium

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy:22.11.2021

A special sub-inspector (SSI) was hacked to death by two thieves early on Sunday when he attempted to stop them from fleeing with a stolen goat. S Boominathan, 50, attached to Navalpattu police station in Tiruchi district, caught hold of them after a 10-km bike chase to bordering Pudukottai, but died after being attacked by them with sharp weapons.

According to police, Boominathan and constable Chithiraivelu were on patrol duty around 2 am when the SSI spotted two men on a bike with a goat. Suspecting them to be thieves, he tried to intercept them, but they fled. Boominathan chased them on his bike while his colleague trailed them on his two-wheeler. When they neared Palathupatti village near Kalamavur railway gate in Pudukottai district, Boominathan caught hold of the two as the entry to the subway filled with rainwater was blocked with boulders. The SSI called Chithiraivelu on his phone and asked him to come over. The two men, however, suddenly attacked Boominathan with sharp weapons from behind and fled.

Political leaders mourn death of SSI Boominathan

With deep cut injuries to the head, the SSI died on the spot before his colleague could reach the place.

Boominathan is survived by his wife B Kavitha, 45, and son B Kugan, 21. Condoling the death, chief minister M K Stalin announced ₹1 crore to the bereaved family and a government job to one of its members.

A native of Nagapattinam, Boominathan had settled at Cholamadevi near Thiruverumbur.

His body was handed over to his family after postmortem at MGMGH and was buried at a graveyard in Cholamadevi with full police honours. ADGP (Law and Order) P Thamaraikannan, DIG of Trichy range A Saravana Sundar, Trichy SP Sujit Kumar and police officers attended the funeral. The Keeranur police registered a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and commenced investigation based on CCTV camera footage sourced from nearby locations.

Trichy range DIG A Saravana Sundar told TOI that the policeman trailing Boominathan had reached the spot a few minutes late. “We have vital clues and hope to nab the culprits soon,” he added.

Various political leaders including PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran, former AIADMK leader V K Sasikala and BJP state president K Annamalai have extended their condolences to the bereaved family.

Senior police officials pay their respects to SSI S Boominathan, who was murdered by goat thieves near Trichy on Sunday