Thrissur: An unusual email sent to the official email account of Thrissur Rural District Police Chief Mohammed Nadeem IPS, purportedly by a senior official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has led to the arrest of a man from Chennai for impersonation and forgery.

On August 25, the Thrissur Rural SP received an email claiming to be from a senior DRDO official under the Union Ministry of Defence. The sender requested assistance for his wife and daughter, who were planning to visit the Guruvayur Temple the following day. A purported DRDO identity card bearing the sender's photograph was also attached to the email to establish credibility.

However, the request raised suspicion as Guruvayur Temple falls under the jurisdiction of the City Police, while the email had been sent to the Rural Police chief. The unusual nature of the request prompted SP Mohammed Nadeem to assign Special Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police Saleesh NS to verify the matter.

The Special Branch investigation found that the email was fake. Following this, a case was registered at the Thrissur Rural Cyber Crime Police Station on the instructions of the District Police Chief.

A scientific investigation subsequently identified the accused as Shankar (46), a native of Bharatheeswarar Colony, Kodambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Police found that Shankar had allegedly impersonated a public servant and misused the name of the DRDO to create a fake identity document, which was then sent through electronic communication. He was arrested from Chennai.

The investigation and arrest were carried out by a team led by Thrissur Rural Cyber Crime Police Station SHO Baiju KC, SI Alby Thomas Varkey, GASI Manoj, CPOs Ajith and Sudheep, and Driver CPO Ananthumon.