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Notorious thief ‘Kozhi Paulose’ arrested by Thrissur Rural police
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The Thrissur Rural police have arrested a 68-year-old habitual offender, known as ‘Kozhi Paulose’, who is accused of carrying out thefts in nearly 100 places of worship across Thrissur and Ernakulam districts in Kerala.The accused, identified as Paulose Kachappally of Mekkatt, had allegedly been involved in a series of burglaries targeting temples, churches and other religious institutions over the years.The police said further investigation was underway to trace stolen items and identify additional cases linked to the accused. Published - June 09, 2026 11:57 am IST
According to investigators, the accused were posing as representatives of a reputed U.S.-based accounting company, and allegedly duped American citizens by offering fake tax advice, licence renewal services, and counterfeit software licence keys. | S. citizens by impersonating a prominent American accounting firm.Acting on specific intelligence inputs, officials of the Cyber Crime Police Station (South East), along with the Special Cyber Cell, conducted co-ordinated raids at four locations across Bengaluru where the illegal call centres were operating.According to investigators, the accused were posing as representatives of a reputed U.S.-based accounting company, and allegedly duped American citizens by offering fake tax advice, license renewal services, and counterfeit software license keys. The fraudsters reportedly collected huge amounts of money from victims in the guise of service charges.Police said the call centre employees used fake identities resembling those of U.S. officials to gain the trust of victims.During the raids, police seized 44 SSDs, two mobile phones, two laptops, nine CPUs, pre-written scripts used to communicate with victims, and several other electronic accessories allegedly used in the cyber fraud operation.The arrested accused have been identified as Prashanth from Delhi and Akash from Uttar Pradesh.Investigations revealed that the accused had allegedly floated a company named ‘Circle Square LLC’, and used multiple shell companies to siphon off large sums of money obtained from U.S. citizens.Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Cyber Command, said further investigation is underway to trace the money trail, identify the bank accounts used in the fraud, and ascertain how the proceeds were transferred and liquidated.Explaining the modus operandi, Mr. Mohanty, said that the accused were running the scam through a registered firm named Reckoning Service Private Limited. Though the company claimed to offer IT-related solutions, the accused allegedly impersonated employees of the US-based tax consulting firm and cheated American citizens by offering fake tax consultation services.Cyber Command officials conducted raids at four offices linked to the operation — two in Koramangala and one each in HSR Layout and Choodasandra. The premises have been seized for further investigation.Investigators said the accused had recruited unemployed youths from Bengaluru and other states and trained them using prepared scripts to lure victims. The employees were allegedly given US accent training to convince victims that they were speaking to genuine representatives from an American tax consultancy firm.Police said nearly 120 employees were working for the operation and were provided salaries and accommodation by the accused.Preliminary investigations suggest the racket had been functioning for the last four years. Cyber Command officials said initial findings revealed financial transactions exceeding ₹40 crore in the last few months alone.Officials said the Karnataka State Cyber Command will coordinate with US authorities through Interpol as part of the ongoing investigation.eom.../// Published - May 21, 2026 03:06 pm IST
Begum Bazar police arrested a 20-year-old habitual house burglar and recovered stolen gold ornaments weighing 206 grams along with ₹2,14,600 in cash, with the total value of the seized property estimated at ₹30 lakh.The accused, Amar Sonkambale, a waiter employed at function halls and a resident of Kishan Bagh, was apprehended on Sunday (May 17) by the Begum Bazar police crime team.Police said the accused was involved in a house burglary reported at Hindi Nagar, Goshamahal, earlier this month. According to the investigators, the burglary took place early on May 6 at the residence of M. Krishna in Hindi Nagar. The complainant had reported theft of gold ornaments weighing around 235 grams and cash worth ₹10 lakh.Police said CCTV footage from the area helped identify and trace the accused. He was later apprehended and the stolen property was recovered from his possession.Investigators said Sonkambale, originally belonging to Udgir village in Maharashtra’s Latur district, had allegedly turned to theft to fund what police described as a lifestyle involving alcohol consumption, smoking and frequent visits to pubs.Officials said he was previously involved in three house burglary cases and one POCSO case registered at different police stations in Hyderabad. Police said further investigation was underway. Published - May 18, 2026 06:56 pm IST
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested another member of a racket that facilitated cheating using high-tech methods for candidates at an online examination centre in Dehradun during a Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recruitment exam three months ago.The racket was busted on February 13 this year during the online examination conducted by the SSC for Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff and Havaldar posts.Uttarakhand STF Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh said in Dehradun on Saturday (May 1that, following a series of intelligence inputs, the team apprehended the accused — identified as Ishwari Prasad (also known as Indrajit Sharma and Inder) — at St John's Academy in Nehru Gram, Dehradun.He further informed that a laptop used for facilitating cheating, four mobile phones, two internet routers, 14 mini Bluetooth devices and receivers, a SIM box, 20 batteries, other electronic equipment, and fake ID cards were recovered from Ishwari Prasad, a resident of Nihal Vihar, Delhi. He was in the process of installing these devices in the laboratory of St John's Academy.The SSP stated that on February 13, it was allegedly Ishwari Prasad who prepared the server room, examination lab, and an underground chamber at the MKP examination centre to facilitate cheating. So far, the STF has arrested four members of the racket, including Ishwari Prasad. He added that, following the accused's arrest, the St. John's Academy examination centre — which had been designated for the SSC Constable (GD) online examination scheduled for May 18 — has been sealed.The SSP also mentioned that the accused was a wanted suspect in connection with cheating incidents that occurred during the Tier-I 'Multi-Tasking Staff' and 'Clerical Staff' examinations conducted by the SSC in November 2025. During the interrogation of the accused, information emerged indicating that the servers at St John's Academy, as well as at certain other locations, had been 'compromised.' He stated that St John's Academy is also designated as an examination centre for the SSC examination scheduled to be held two days from now, on May 18; the Regional Director of the SSC has been duly informed regarding this matter. Published - May 17, 2026 06:27 am IST
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