Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jul 24: Police personnel of Barke station in the city arrested a college student from the city on Saturday July 22. The student has been accused of swindling over Rs 50 lac from a number of students of a college in the city, after collecting this sum from them with the promise of doubling their money.

The arrested accused happens to be Vinod (22), a native of Sangli in Maharashtra. Vinod's family has been living in an apartment at Dongerkery in the city since the last about 25 years. Reportedly the family get income out of preparing and selling Chapathis.

Vinod, it is said, had borrowed three lac rupees from Sunil Shetty, a final year BCom degree course student from his college, on May 19 this year reportedly for event management business. Sunil is from Talapady. On that occasion, Vinod not only gave in writing that he would repay the sum borrowed within a week duly affixing his signature and thumb impression on the paper, but also issued three cheques on a bank at Car Street here towards repayment of the sum borrowed. He also reportedly made Shetty believe that his father owns a gold jewellery business.

As Vinod failed to repay the money promptly, Sunil became suspicious. He repeatedly sought his money back, but Vinod tried to evade the issue by putting forth various reasons. Sunil thereafter filed police complaint.

The police have since got information that Vinod has defrauded over 50 students of the college to the extent of more than Rs 50 lac. Several students have since filed complaints with the police about having been cheated in similar fashion by the accused. The accused was produced in court whereupon he was remanded to judicial custody.