
Man loses over Rs 50 lakh in online trading scam
Kochi: A Muvattupuzha resident lost over Rs 50 lakh in an online scam. According to the police, the victim came across an advertisement about online trading on social media and clicked on a link attached with it.
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He was then added to a WhatsApp group.
The accused then contacted him and convinced him to invest in the stock market with promises of high returns. He subsequently deposited Rs 52.85 lakh into various accounts. However, the accused then ended all contact with him. The victim approached police soon after.
Two held for taking bribe: Vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) on Monday arrested a village field assistant and a retired village assistant for taking a bribe for allotting a title deed (patta).
Police identified the arrested persons as Thambi, retired village assistant of Chowara, and Navas, a village field assistant.
According to VACB, the complainant, a Kakkanad native, submitted an application before the Chowara village office to obtain a title deed for his 1.24-acre land. Subsequently, Thambi and Navas inspected his property on April 24. They then demanded Rs 10,000 as a bribe. The complainant then told the officials that he did not have that much money with him and they returned.
When the application was not processed, the complainant contacted the officials and they repeated the demand for a bribe. However, Thambi had retired from service by then and the complainant was unaware of this when he called to enquire about the issue.
He then approached Ernakulam vigilance DSP with a complaint. Thambi was arrested red-handed when he accepted the money from the complainant near Chowara village office.
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Navas, who was in the area, was soon arrested. The accused were presented in court and remanded in judicial custody.
Odisha native held with ganja: A migrant worker was caught with 2kg of ganja on Tuesday. Police identified the arrested person as Rajesh Deegal, 23, a native of Ganjam, Odisha. He was captured while attempting to hand over the ganja near the Perumbavoor bus stand after arriving in Aluva by train from Odisha.
The ganja, purchased for Rs 3,000 from Odisha, was being sold here for Rs 20,000, police said.

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