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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Five killed in car-truck collision in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur
Jashpur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Five persons were killed when a car they were travelling in collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district on Sunday, police said.
The accident occurred near Patratoli village under Duldula police station limits in the wee hours when the victims were heading towards Jashpur, a police official said.
The impact was so severe that the car was completely crushed. All five occupants of the car died on the spot, he said.
After the incident, some villagers rushed to the spot and immediately informed the police.
The Duldula police, with the help of locals, retrieved the bodies from the mangled vehicle and sent them to the Community Health Centre for post-mortem, the official said.
As per preliminary information, the victims were residents of the Charaidand area. Their identity was being ascertained, he added.
