Sajan (R) was arrested for cheating hundreds by selling fake iphones through online deals.Kochi: A man has been arrested for swindling lakhs of money from a number of customers who bought iphones at a discounted rate in an online deal. Sajan (35), hailing from Fort Kochi, was living in Reddy Building, Hosur Main Road, Bengaluru, when the police squad led by CI Y. Nizamudheen arrested him.
Sajan had advertised on a website that he is selling the latest iphone version at an enormously discounted rate of Rs. 21,999. Those who paid half the price in advance were promised to receive the phone in just three days. He cleverly deluded the customers, saying the iphones were actually smuggled in bulk quantity, the reason why he was able to sell it at such a low price. Believing his fabricated story, many paid the price of the iphone to the bank account he specified, and were deceived.
The police said that Sajan had secured a number of personal accounts at various banks in Bengaluru in different false addresses. Customers from Kollam, Alleppey, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram are among the ones deceived.
Sajan’s strategy was to delay the delivery of the phone by telling cooked up stories to the expectant customers. He would invite the customer to some of the busiest spots in the city to hand over the product. Sajan would introduce himself to them as the ‘delivery boy,' and hand over the phone. He would whisper to the customer that it was unsafe to open the package in public as it contained smuggled product. A couple of times, some customers have attempted to open the package, but got ‘convinced’ when they saw the iphone label on the cover.
The man would instantly vanish into the crowd once he procured the balance amount for the product.
What is more surprising is that among the deceived customers, there are educated people like IT professionals, MBBS, MBA and BTech students and some mobile dealers. And Sajan is a computer illiterate! Many cases are registered against Sajan at police stations in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, Puthukkad, Malappuram, Changanassery and Palarivattom. Ernakulam North Police has registered a case against him on the complaint submitted by Sahadh from Malappuram.
The convict, who had earlier been a construction worker at Infopark, Kakkanad, managed to procure SIM cards using his temporary address there and false addresses in Bengaluru and Fort Kochi. Originally a native of Amaravati, Fort Kochi, Sajan migrated to Bengaluru 16 years ago. Interestingly, majority of his victims are Keralites.
