Fake Facebook Account created to defraud people using name of Vartha Bharati’s Editor

Complaint lodged with Cyber Police 

Vartha Bharati | 11-03-2021 | 17:04:00 IST

Bengaluru: In another case of online identity theft, on Thursday, an unknown offender created a fake Facebook account in the name of Abdussalam Puthige, editor-in-chief of Vartha Bharati Kannada daily, and reportedly attempted to defraud the online community with a false request for funds. 

This new fake account has been created by tampering with the photos and information of Abdussalaam Puthige available on Facebook. Reportedly, the perpetrator messaged AS Puthige’s friends and acquaintances using the fake profile through Facebook messenger and build a friendly rapport to only suddenly make an urgent request for money citing an emergency. The offender had provided a number asking the victims to send money via Phone pay or Google Pay, it is learned.  Alarmed by this, cautious netizens then immediately alerted Vartha Bharati Bureau, who then registered a complaint with the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Unit.

Abdussalaam Puthige has also posted a clarification regarding the episode on his official Facebook account. "It has been brought to my notice that my name, photo has been misused to create a fake Facebook account and it is being used to send messages to my acquaintances via Messenger requesting urgent monetary assistance. I have not sent any such messages to anybody. So do not believe any such messages being sent in my name. I have lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Division against the fraudulent activity being done using my name”, he clarified.

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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai

01-05-2026 ¦ 01-05-2026 IST

Representational image (freepik)

Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.