BENGALURU: A woman has approached the police after a conman allegedly cheated her by introducing himself as a police inspector working with the Central Crime Branch (CCB). Geetha (29), a resident of Mahalakshmi Layout, said in her complaint that she met the man four years ago when she moved to the city from Tumakuru, and had gone to meet a friend in KC General Hospital in Malleswaram. The conman, 45-year-old Jayarama, introduced himself to her as a police inspector.
He assured her that he could solve any problem she may face in the city and won her trust. She gave him Rs 2,000-5,000 whenever he asked. He took Rs 50,000 from her in 2016, and an equal sum again in 2017. He then told her to stay in his flat in JKW Layout. Jayarama also made her buy him a tailoring machine, a Honda Activa scooter and three smartphones.
However, in May 2018, when Geetha faced a problem, Jayarama was unable to help her. That’s when she inquired about him and his background, and discovered that she was taken for a ride. After some days, when he called her to meet him near Rajajinagar Metro Station, she had a showdown with him. She told him that she knew he wasn’t a policeman and asked him to repay all the money she had given him.
However, Jayarama threatened to outrage her modesty in public and to reveal their friendship to her husband. The blackmail worked, and he was able to extract a gold chain and two rings from her.
After Geetha filed a complaint, the police swung into action and arrested Jayarama on Tuesday. An officer from Mahalakshmi Layout police station investigating the case said he has been booked for impersonation and extortion.
The officer said after Geetha’s complaint, four other women have come forward with complaints against Jayarama, who is married and has two college-going daughters. The police learnt that Jayarama was in the habit of targeting widows, divorced women or those in trouble to win their trust and then cheat them.
He had taken photos of himself in police uniform standing next to a police vehicle and also possessed a fake identity card of the police department. He told a few women that he was with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and also had an identity card of Anti-Corruption Bureau. He was also known to blackmail his victims, and threatened to book them under prostitution cases and conduct raids on their houses.