Man held for duping people through fraudulent loan schemes

Kochi: A 68-year-old man was arrested for orchestrating fraudulent schemes targeting individuals who provide land sale advertisements on media outlets. The accused, Mani, was arrested from his rented accommodation at Vazhoor in Kottayam. According to police, he operated as the kingpin of a group that posed as land brokers, offering substantial loans with promises of doubling returns."A resident of Aluva was defrauded of Rs 5 lakh. Using the false identity of Joshi, the accused would befriend advertisers of land sales, claiming to have connections in the film industry and access to unaccounted money. His scheme involved promising low-interest loans and utilizing prop currency notes from film productions," said a police officer.The arrest was carried out by a police team under the leadership of Muvattupuzha inspector Basil Thomas.Man arrested in village office theft case: A special investigation team under Perumbavoor ASP on Wednesday arrested Binoy, 40, of Ayyampuzha, the accused in the Arakkappadi village office theft case. Binoy broke into the office on the night of Oct 30 and stole the inverter battery. He had previously stolen a laptop from the same office on June 6 and after completing a three-month imprisonment for that offence, he was released in Sept."The accused also stole a scooter near high court on Sept 25 and broke into a workshop on Oct 1 to steal another scooter. Police successfully recovered both vehicles," said a police officer.Police retrieved the battery from a scrap dealer's shop near Ernakulam Market. The accused has been linked to approximately 35 cases across various police jurisdictions, including Perumbavoor, Kalady, Kunnathunad, Puthencruz, Tripunithura, Angamaly, Koratty, Chalakudy, Ayyampuzha and Ernakulam central.