The Ernakulam Rural Cybercrime police in Kerala have registered a case in connection with the alleged misappropriation of 331 premium mobile phones, worth around ₹1.61 crore in total, from the delivery hubs of an e-commerce firm reportedly through cheating and impersonation.
The police have booked four persons who were serving as in-charges of four delivery hubs operated by Instakart Services Private Limited for Flipkart Internet Private Limited at Kanjoor, Kuruppampady, Mekkad, and Muvattupuzha. The accused were identified as Siddique K. Aliyar, Jassim Dileep, P.A. Harris, and Mahin Noushad of the respective hubs.
They allegedly misappropriated premium mobile phones, including iPhones, Samsung Galaxy models, and Vivo IQOO devices, between August 31 and October 26. The case was registered based on a petition lodged by Sakthivel Brahmalingam, enforcement officer, Flipkart Internet Private Limited.
According to the FIR, the accused booked mobile phones on Flipkart’s online platform through the company’s application using different phone numbers and fake addresses. When the phones were delivered to the hubs, they falsely reported them as missing.
In this manner, the accused allegedly cheated the company to misappropriate 38 phones worth around ₹18.16 lakh from the Kanjoor hub, 87 phones worth ₹40.97 lakh from the Kuruppampady hub, 101 phones worth ₹48.66 lakh from the Mekkad hub, and 106 phones worth ₹53.41 lakh from the Muvattupuzha hub.
The accused have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 316 (criminal breach of trust), 318 (cheating), and 319 (impersonation), along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act (cheating by impersonation online).
The police have launched a detailed probe and are set to interrogate the accused to gain a clearer picture of their modus operandi.