Bengaluru: A 23-year-old real estate agent who created multiple aliases, shaved off his head to create different identities and was on a cheating spree for over three months has finally been arrested by the North Division police.
The accused, Anand, got inspired by a crime story telecast on a news TV channel in May, where a realtor narrated his story of venturing into the business as a conman. But what Anand, who went by aliases such as Karthik Babu, Kasim Sab and Ram Babu Reddy, did not know was that there is no such thing as a perfect crime.
Desperate to make money to pay off his loans, Anand, a resident of Thanisandra, chalked out an elaborate plan. His experience at construction sites, right from the beginning of the construction of an apartment to its selling, helped him in his con job.
In May, he decided to put his knowledge to best use. He approached Karthik Properties and told them about his marketing skills and his contacts in the IT sector. He convinced the builders that he could bring in customers and they should give him a 2 percent commission. The builders, who had no clue about Anand’s real intentions, agreed.
Anand went to work, and started creating fake identities in the names of Karthik, Kasim Sab and Ram Babu Reddy. “First, he took SIM cards using fake documents on all the three names and created bank accounts before approaching customers, posing as the manager of Karthik Properties,” DCP (North) Chethan Singh Rathore said.
“He used two numbers on his mobile phone. To some, he gave the number of Khasim and to some of Reddy. But it was always Anand who spoke to the customers,” he said.
Anand took Rs 5-10 lakh as deposit from each of the 13 customers between May and July by promising them flats at decent rates. Once he realised he had enough money, Rs 50 lakh, to lead a luxurious life, he switched off his phone and remained untraceable.
“It was very difficult to catch him as we weren’t aware of his real identity. He had even shaved off his head and posed for some of the pictures for his documents, which was done only to deceive. We gathered information and managed to catch him,” Mr Rathore said.
The police started investigating after one of the victims, Nischey D., lodged a complaint on July 22. Mr Nischey had stated in his complaint that Anand, who posed as Karthik Babu, had taken Rs 7 lakh from him.
The police are interrogating Anand to learn if he was involved in such cases before.
