Software employee loses ₹4.87 lakh in online house rental scam
Bengaluru: A software employee from Aadugodi lost ₹4.87 lakh in a house rental scam after unknowingly using a fake property website that closely resembled a popular online platform. The incident took place between July 20 and July 22, while the victim was looking for a rental home from Whitefield, reports Bangalore Mirror.
According to the police complaint, the victim found a listing that seemed genuine and contacted the supposed owners, Srinivasan and Rajendra Jain. They then directed him to two people named Dharmendra and Nandakishora, who claimed to be property managers.
The managers told the victim that several payments were needed for the “online verification” of the property. Believing them, the victim transferred ₹3 lakh to Nandakishora and ₹1.87 lakh to Dharmendra in different stages. Whenever the victim raised doubts, they insisted the payments were non-refundable and necessary for booking the house.
After sending the money, the victim found that no property had been booked. Realising it was a scam, the victim called the cybercrime helpline (1930) and then filed a complaint at the local police station.
Police say that the website used in the fraud was a fake version of a well-known property site. It looked almost identical to the original, with only a tiny difference in the website name, just a small dot that went unnoticed. The victim also relied on a virtual video tour and did not visit the property in person.
An investigating officer said that many working professionals fall for such online scams. In 2024, around 1.6% of cyber fraud cases involved advance fee scams, though only a small portion of the total money was recovered. In these types of scams, fraudsters ask for upfront payments with false promises of services or rewards.
In this case, the scammers pretended to be landlords and property managers, collected money for supposed verification, and then disappeared. Police have urged the public to double-check property details, visit the site if possible, and avoid making payments without proper verification.
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SC directs Karnataka govt to hold Bengaluru civic body polls by June 30
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Karnataka government and the state election body to hold the long-pending polls for Bengaluru local body by June 30.
The tenure of the earlier elected body for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) expired on September 10, 2020, and since then a government-appointed administrator was taking care of its day-to-day affairs.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice JK Maheshwari, which fixed the schedule for the poll process, said that the final ward-wise reservation list shall be published by the state government by February 20, and made it clear that no further extension shall be granted.
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The order was passed on a plea of the Karnataka government which has challenged the high court's December 2020 order that directed the State Election Commission to hold BBMP elections expeditiously after finalising the electoral rolls.
The top court is monitoring the compliance of its earlier orders regarding polls to the BBMP and the newly created municipal corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA).
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Karnataka government, submitted that the exercise of finalising and notifying ward-wise reservations is underway and will be done within a month.
The bench took the statement on record and fixed February 20 as the final deadline for publication of the list of reservations.
Senior advocate KN Phanindra, appearing for the State Election Commission (SEC), informed the court that the date for publication of the final voter list was fixed as March 16, keeping in mind the fixture of board and college examinations. He submitted that educational institutions will be used as polling stations and teachers will be deployed for election duties.
Phanindra added that Board examinations are likely to conclude by May end and the polls to the local bodies can be held thereafter.
The bench ordered, "The elections in all circumstances shall be concluded before June 30, 2026."
In its December 2020 judgment, the high court upheld the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Third Amendment Act, 2020, which increased the number of BBMP wards.
The high court had, however, "read down" the amendment, holding that it would not apply to elections that ought to have been held under Article 243 of the Constitution before the amendment came into effect.
On December 18, 2020, the top court stayed the high court order, and in 2022, it asked the state government to complete the process of delimitation of wards for BBMP and to notify the same within a period of eight weeks.
The Karnataka government earlier notified reservations for 369 wards across five newly carved municipal corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area.
Unlike the previous civic body polls, which were held for 198 wards, the next elections will be held for 369 wards across five corporations, an increase of 171.
