Fake court busted in Gujarat; conman who passed orders as 'judge' arrested
Ahmedabad (PTI): Police have arrested a man after he allegedly set up a fake tribunal, posed as its judge and passed orders creating the ambience of a real court at his office in Gujarat's Gandhinagar, officials said.
The accused, Morris Samuel Christian, passed an order in favour of his client in a case related to a government land way back in 2019, they said, indicating the bogus court was functioning at least for the last five years.
A preliminary probe indicated Christian used to trap people whose cases of land disputes were pending before the city civil court. He used to take a specific amount from his clients as fees for solving their case, police said on Monday.
Christian would first establish himself as a court-appointed official arbitrator, call his clients at his Gandhinagar-based office which was designed to look like a court, and pass a favourable order as the presiding officer of the tribunal, according to the police.
His accomplices would stand as court staff or lawyers to create an impression that proceedings were genuine, an official release said.
The Ahmedabad city police have arrested Christian for allegedly cheating people by posing as a judge of an arbitral tribunal and passing favourable orders claiming he has been appointed as an arbitrator by a competent court to adjudicate legal disputes, it said.
The conman faced action and his bogus court was busted after a complaint was filed at Karanj police station here by the city civil court registrar.
Christian has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 170 (pretending to hold any office as a public servant) and 419 (cheating by personation), said the release.
In 2019, Christian passed an order in favour of his client using the same modus operandi. The case was pertaining to a government land under the district collector while his client had staked claim on it and wanted to add his name in revenue records related to the plot in question located in Paldi area, it said.
Without an authority or order issued by any court under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Christian told his client he has been appointed as the "official arbitrator" by the government.
The conman then initiated fake proceedings at his 'court' and passed an order in favour of his client, directing the collector to add his client's name in the revenue records of that land, the release said.
To implement the order, Christian, through another lawyer, filed an appeal in the city civil court and attached the fraudulent order passed by him.
The court registrar, Hardik Desai, recently found out that Christian is neither an arbitrator nor is the order of the tribunal genuine.
Following his complaint, the Karanj police lodged an FIR and arrested the conman, who is already facing a cheating complaint filed at the city's Maninagar police station in 2015, said the release.
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FIR filed after e-commerce platform linked tech firm alleges SMS spoofing fraud
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against unknown people for allegedly sending fraudulent messages in the name of an e-commerce platform with promises of cash rewards, further disrupting its operations, police said on Wednesday.
The offence is said to have taken place between April 23 and April 27, they said.
A representative of city-based technology company Hiveloop Technology Pvt Ltd (HTPL), part of the Udaan group (eB2B platform), has lodged a complaint alleging a large-scale SMS spoofing fraud following which a detailed investigation has been initiated into the matter, a senior police officer said.
According to the FIR, HTPL is a registered entity on the TRAI-mandated DLT platform, which permits only pre-approved SMS templates and whitelisted URLs to be sent through authorised sender IDs.
The issue came to light on April 23, when HTPL received alerts from buyers about fraudulent SMS messages appearing to originate from the company's sender ID "UDAANN". The messages reportedly contained Bitly links and falsely claimed a credit of Rs 10,001, urging recipients to withdraw money, it said.
On April 27, at around 12:49 pm, the DLT platform blacklisted HTPL's SMS templates, citing their alleged use in sending fraudulent messages. Within minutes, the company's sender ID was also blacklisted. Airtel's DLT system subsequently confirmed the action and shared details of the fraudulent messages that were circulated in HTPL's name without its knowledge or consent, the FIR stated.
Following this, the company's messaging operations were affected, and even legitimate communications such as one-time passwords to buyers began failing. Later, the DLT operator suspended HTPL's entire account following complaints raised on TRAI's Chakshu platform, bringing all SMS services of the company to a halt, it further stated.
HTPL has stated that neither it nor its authorised vendors sent the fraudulent messages. The links embedded in the messages reportedly redirected users to an online betting website, the FIR stated.
The company has claimed that the incident has resulted in a complete breakdown of SMS-based services, including buyer authentication, order updates and promotional communication, leading to significant financial losses.
At least 13 victims have been identified so far, with the possibility of more affected users. Victims were allegedly directed to an online betting platform, raising concerns of potential financial fraud, the FIR added.
