Karkala: Man duped of Rs 15.5 lakh in online scam via messaging app
Udupi (Karnataka), Jul 23 (PTI): A 34-year-old man has allegedly lost over Rs 15.5 lakh to an online scam after being lured into a fraudulent investment scheme via a messaging app, police said on Wednesday.
The victim, identified as Ashwith, filed a complaint at the Karkala town police station, following which an FIR was registered under the Information Technology Act, they added.
Ashwith, according to police, received a WhatsApp message on January 28, 2025, from a number registered under the name Meena Sakpal, inviting him to join an "S-coin investment task" through the app.
Believing the message to be "genuine", he followed the instructions, shared his account details, and made multiple payments between January 29 and June 19, 2025.
The funds, totalling Rs 15,52,650, were transferred from his Maharashtra Bank account in Mangaluru to a UPI-linked account. After making the payments, he was asked to invest more and later told to pay a tax to retrieve his money, a senior police officer said.
When the funds were not returned, Ashwith approached the police.
Further investigation is underway, police added.
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Pune airport runway restored after IAF aircraft snag; ops resume
Pune (PTI): The runway at Pune airport, which was temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft, has now been restored and declared operational, the Air Force said on Saturday.
The authorities at the Pune International Airport had earlier said that around 10.25 pm on Friday, a fighter aircraft experienced an undercarriage failure during landing, causing the runway to be blocked.
As many as 91 flights of airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, Akasa, and Air India Express, were affected due to the incident, they said.
Earlier on Friday night, the Air Force had stated that the runway at Pune airport was temporarily unavailable following an incident involving one of its fighter aircraft. The aircrew are safe, and there is no damage to civil property, it had said.
"The runway at Pune Airport, which was temporarily unavailable due to an incident involving an Indian Air Force aircraft, has now been restored and declared operational. All necessary safety inspections and clearances have been completed. Operations are resuming in a phased manner," it said in a post on X.
Flight operations at Pune airport are being gradually restored. The situation has been brought under control with the highest priority given to the safety of citizens, a Defence PRO said.
