A farmer in Koppal district has lost Rs 5.54 lakh to cyber fraudsters who exploited his trust while he was at a bank branch. Mallappa Sajjanagudda, a resident of Kadi Guppa village in Kushtagi taluk, had approached the Axis Bank branch in Ilakal to seek a Rs 40 lakh loan for the purchase of a tipper truck. Bank officials informed him that they do not provide loans for such vehicles. While waiting at the bank, Mallappa noticed an advertisement on an LED screen and called the mobile number listed, but the call was not answered. Shortly after, he received a call from a different number, and the caller spoke to him in Hindi. The fraudster posed as a bank employee, promising to facilitate the loan for the tipper truck, and obtained Mallappa’s Aadhaar card number and ATM PIN. Using this information, the caller transferred Rs 5.54 lakh from the farmer’s account. Mallappa has filed a complaint, and an FIR has been registered at the Cyber Police Station.
In a separate development, police have arrested a fugitive accused in the murder of Santosh Kumar in Metagal, under the jurisdiction of Koppal Rural Police Station. The murder, which occurred on August 20, was allegedly linked to an illicit relationship. An FIR was filed naming Manish Kumar and his friend Kishore Kumar as the accused. Manish Kumar was arrested on the day of the incident, while Kishore Kumar went on the run. A special team led by CPI Jayaprakash and PSI Veeresh Malashetti, along with other staff, was formed to locate the second accused. By gathering information from the first accused and through technical means, the team traced Kishore Kumar to Saharsa district in Bihar, where he was arrested. Upon interrogation, Kishore Kumar confessed to committing the crime, according to Sahil Bagla, the District Police Officer.