A special squad of the Kochi City police has arrested two Malayalam film industry personalities for alleged online cheating to the tune of ₹46 lakh.
The arrested were identified as Sreedev, 35, of Ernakulam, and Muhammed Rafi, 37, of Kannur, an associate director and a costume designer, respectively, the police said.
The victim was from Mattancherry. He was allegedly cheating during January and February. Allegedly, the accused sent a link to the victim’s WhatsApp number. The victim was made to believe he could make a profit by rating a building by clicking on the link.
On this pretext, the accused, allegedly, collected ₹46 lakh in several lots. Realising he had been duped, the victim registered a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal number 1930. Another complaint was lodged with the Mattancherry police as well.
A special squad was formed to probe the case under Mattancherry Assistant Commissioner Umesh Goyal and Mattancherry inspector K.A. Shibin. Cyber cell was also roped in for assistance. District Police Chief (Kochi City) Putta Vimaladitya and Deputy Commissioner of Kochi City Aswathy Gigi supervised the investigation.
The squad tracked down the accused using their mobile tower location. According to the police, the accused deposited the proceeds of the alleged cheating in Sreedev’s account. He then handed it over to another person.
The police are on the lookout for more accused. Whether the accused had similarly cheated more people is also being looked into, the police said.
Mattancherry sub inspector Madhusoodhanan, senior civil police officers Edwin Rose and Dhaneesh, cyber cell officer Arun were part of the squad.
Published – April 19, 2025 11:29 am IST