Police in Kerala on Thursday arrested a 29-year-old man who allegedly swindled crores of rupees from several banks in the state by claiming to be an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, officials said.
Vipin Kartik’s main accomplice was his mother, who also posed as an information service officer and she was arrested last week, police said. They added that they belong to Thalassery in Kannur district.
Police said Kartik and his mother had taken loans from several banks to buy at least 12 cars, some of them from the luxury segment, and later sold them off after changing the hypothecation certificate and other documents.
Some banks later said he came to their branches in full uniform so they sanctioned the loans without much fuss.
Police said at least 15 cases were pending against them in different police stations in three districts. Kartik also posed as superintendent of the income tax department, customs officer and many others.
They later found out that he created fake salary certificates and other documents to convince bank officials. They also duped a woman bank manager of Rs 25 lakh and 90 sovereigns of gold, police said.
{{/usCountry}}They later found out that he created fake salary certificates and other documents to convince bank officials. They also duped a woman bank manager of Rs 25 lakh and 90 sovereigns of gold, police said.
{{/usCountry}}He had arranged his wedding with a woman from Adoor in Pathanamthitta and the ceremony was fixed in February next year. He reportedly told the police that he was planning to settle down after some more “missions.”
Police said Kartik told the bride’s family members that he was posted as the assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in Kozhikode. When they went to make some inquiries, he was present outside the office of Kozhikode Police commissioner.
A health freak, he was a regular at a number of gyms in Thrissur and Kozhikode. Fluent in many languages, police said, Kartik had a special knack of convincing people and many fell into his trap.