A 38-year-old habitual offender has been arrested for conning over 18 NGOs in the city by promising to get them laptops for subsidised prices through CSR funds.
The suspect, Prathap Simha, is a resident of Girinagar in Southern Bengaluru. A class 10 dropout, Simha has been evading the police for several years.
Police investigations showed that Simha has been scamming people with multiple modus operandi for the past nine years, but was never arrested. He has cases against him in multiple states and also a few cheque bounce cases in court.
Simha contacted NGOs online and told them he would get laptops for subsidised prices using CSR funds and subsidies of petrochemical companies.
Simha not only defrauded NGOs, but also targeted farmers in Mandya, Mysuru and Tumakuru. He approached farmers and promised them he would develop their land through government schemes. He would then collect money from them and go incommunicado.
Police said that he also contacted tender coconut sellers from Delhi, Agra, Lucknow and Himachal Pradesh to be partners with him, claiming he was a tender coconut broker. He swindled money and cheated them, as well.
According to an investigating officer, Simha has cases against him in Halasuru and Peenya police stations. They were transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB), who identified the suspect under the guidance of Abdul Ahad, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Crime-1.
Published 12 December 2023, 21:01 IST