Bengaluru: Unemployed graduate dupes woman befriending through FB, arrested

BENGALURU: A 25-year-old unemployed graduate, who conned a woman by befriending her through Facebook, by claiming he was close relative of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, has been arrested by the Cubbon Park police.

The accused has been identified as Nijanthan alias Niju Jayaram, a resident of Gowdanapalya in Subramanyapura. He had completed BSc and was in search of a job.

According to the police, the accused sent a friend request on Facebook to one, Veena, a resident of Indiranagar, about four months ago. The woman had accepted the request and during a chat, he allegedly claimed that he was a close relative of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and assured her of help, if she had any work in Tamil Nadu. The woman trusted him and they both became close within a few days.

“Meanwhile, the accused told the woman that he wanted to gift her an iPhone and asked her to come to UB City on February 8. When the woman went there, he took her to Image showroom, where the woman selected an iPhone worth Rs 60,000. While paying the bill, the accused told the woman that he had forgotten his debit card and asked her to swipe her card. After she purchased the phone, he took the phone from her saying that he would download applications to the phone at his friend’s shop. He left saying that he would come near her house in the evening and return the phone and '60,000 in cash,” the police said.

The accused did not turn up and his phone was switched off. He did not even reply to the messages sent by the victim on Facebook. She grew suspicious and filed a complaint with the Cubbon Park police recently. The police traced the IP address of the accused and arrested him. The iPhone was recovered from him and he has been remanded to judicial custody.