Five held for using fake scholarship to lure college students into 'money mule' scam
Gadag (Karnataka) (PTI): Five men were arrested for allegedly luring students with false promises of scholarship money and other incentives to open mule bank accounts in their names for illegal transactions, police said on Monday.
The accused were identified as Vakdoth Vakeel (24), Raju (23), Zeeshan Ansari (22), Akash (32) and Sahil (22), they said.
Vakdoth and Raju, both residents of Huvina Hadagali taluk in Vijayanagara district colluded with the intention of committing cyber fraud and approached students staying at a boys hostel here.
According to police, by gaining their trust through false promises of scholarship money and other inducements, the accused duo convinced the students to open bank accounts in their respective names at the Bank of Maharashtra in Gadag city.
The accused themselves provided the initial deposit of Rs 2,000 for each account. After the accounts were opened, they deceitfully collected the passbooks, ATM cards, internet banking details, and the SIM cards linked to these accounts.
Based on the information gathered regarding this fraud, a case was registered on behalf of the government on March 11, and an investigation is underway.
Following a tip-off that Vakdoth and Raju were travelling to Goa to hand over the collected bank passbooks, ATM cards, linked SIM cards, and internet banking user IDs and passwords, their location was being tracked and they were subsequently apprehended, police said.
"During the inquiry, it was confirmed that the accused had lured innocent account holders with false promises to open bank accounts in order to misuse them for cyber frauds, and subsequently collected all their account-related information," an officer said.
The duo revealed during questioning that they had travelled to Goa to discuss the commission for the eight fraudulently opened bank accounts with one of the other accused, Kumar, a resident of Attikatti village in Haveri district.
However, Kumar has not yet been traced, he said.
Subsequently, based on the information provided by them, three other accomplices were taken into custody.
With their arrests, police have seized 11 mobile phones, three bank kits pertaining to accounts opened at the Bank of Maharashtra in Haveri district and five bank kits pertaining to accounts opened at the Bank of Maharashtra in Gadag district.
"The investigation has revealed that the said accused have opened several more such accounts and efforts are being taken to nab three more accused who are currently absconding in the case," he added.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
