The woman, identified as Rani, was introduced as a man by her parents, said the shop owner who gave him the job of a collection agent. He had also presented his voter identification card as well as degree certificate which were forged.
According to Kottiyam police sub-inspector Mohammed Khan, Rani alias Srikant collected money from several clients, forged the receipts using carbon paper and remitted only part of the money to his employer. It was only recently that the shop owner got suspicious and on cross-checking found a big gap between the amounts collected and remitted to them.
On registering a complaint, the police traced Srikant and took him into custody. It was when the medical examination was conducted on him that the lid was blown on the impersonation.
Her colleagues with whom she had shared a room are still unable to believe that they had been cheated. Police said Rani belonged to a middle class family, which had run into financial troubles.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks