TRICHY: The city police on Wednesday arrested a 35-year-old man for trying to cheat a man of money on the pretext of conducting verification for the government’s financial assistance to his widowed daughter.
Acting on a complaint from T Basha, 55, of Varaganeri bazaar, cybercrime police inspector R Sindhunathi investigated the case and arrested C Prabhakaran of Kannakurichi in Salem, on charges of cheating and attempting to steal money, under IPC and Information Technology Act.
Police said Basha had petitioned Trichy collector S Sivarasu on August16 seeking help for the livelihood of his daughter Benazir Fatima whose husband hailing from Nagappattinam died by suicide. On October 12, Prabhakaran visited the residence of Basha posing as a revenue inspector from the collector’s office.
Introducing himself as Deva Prasad, he told Basha that he had come to conduct verification for financial assistance of Rs 5.5 lakh and a job in the education department for his daughter on compassionate grounds.
He also gave false information that they have to pay a tax of Rs 30,000 to get the assistance for which he also gave a bank account number to deposit the money. Thereafter, he appeared to check Benazir’s mobile phone saying he had to submit the location of the spot where her husband ended his life to the revenue department as proof.
A couple of days later, the man called up Basha and insisted that he pay the Rs 30,000 ‘tax’. As he developed suspicion, Basha contacted a revenue official in the collector office and confirmed that there was no such officer by the name Deva Prasad. There was also no procedure to pay tax to get financial assistance.
So he lodged a complaint with the police. Inspector Sindhunathi said that the accused got information about the petition submitted by Basha from a newspaper and conspired to cheat the man. He has been remanded in judicial custody.
