Man posing as serving Indian Army officer, duping people for Army recruitment, arrested in Mangaluru
Army Intelligence carried the operation jointly with local police
Mangaluru: Military Intelligence Unit in a joint operation with Mangaluru Police on Sunday arrested one person for allegedly cheating people by claiming to be a Junior Commissioned Officer in Indian Army.
The arrested accused has been identified as Manjunath Reddy, who was staying in his rented house at Lord Krishna Estate in Surathkal.
According to an official press release issued after Reddy’s arrest “Items related to Army uniform, used by imposter to pose as serving Indian Army Soldier including scanned fake Indian Army Identity Card, Fake Indian Army Dependent card and fake Indian Army rubber stamps were recovered from the house of imposter”.
The press statement added that the initial investigation into the matter revealed Reddy was earlier working inside “Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre, Belgau” campus as a civilian employee from where he purchased all the Army dress. Reddy has also said that he posed as Army Junior Commissioned Officer of the rank of naib subedar/subedar/subedar major and organised various public events like felicitation ceremonies for retired and families of martyred Army personnel. Through which he gained trust of people and later promised them of getting job in the Indian Army to serve as Soldier by taking money from them.
Reddy has reportedly duped various individuals and families of lakhs of rupees in the name of recruiting them in Indian Army. The Army Intelligence and Police team investigating the matter suspects a huge fake recruitment racket being run by fraudulent agents/imposters to make money. The team also suspects that Reddy will not be the lone member of the nexus and may have people from inside Army especially from Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre, Belgaum who might assist/guide the imposter in carrying such activities.
The army intelligence team was led by Major Swathi Srivalli Dharwadkar along with Mangaluru North Subdivision ACP. Further investigations into the matter are underway.
The press statement also warned people from being scammed by such imposters and added that Army selection is not done by means of paying money and no Army personnel will ask for money to provide direct recruitment order. It also urged people to use right channel for Army recruitment which is only by registering online on www.joinindianarmy.gov.in
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
