KOCHI: Police have recovered a wireless communication device, a beacon light, uniforms and rubber seals of central agencies from the house of a person who impersonated an Indian Revenue Service officer in Mattancherry. The arrested is Kripesh Mallya, 41, a resident of Marakkadavu Road, Mattancherry, and currently staying at a rented house at Anavathil.
Recently, the police received a tip-off, that a person impersonating a customs officer was living in the Mattancherry area. After a preliminary probe, police tracked the person’s whereabouts and raided his house on Monday night. “Kripesh opened the door when we reached his house. He introduced himself as a customs superintendent. We checked his identity card and found it was a fake one. Then we searched the entire house and found several items in his possession,” a police officer said.
There was a wireless communication set, a beacon light and uniforms of customs and Indian Railways inside the house. Apart from these, there were 43 rubber seals of various state and central enforcement agencies, their emblems, two fake identity cards, two driving licences, a counterfeit currency detecting machine, envelopes and notepads with emblems of central agencies. Apart from these, the police also recovered 19 Nitrazepam tablets and three grams of ganja from the house.
“We haven’t received any complaints of cheating against him. His relatives claim that he has psychological issues. The accused claimed that he bought the items, including wireless sets, online. He said it was his hobby to buy such items. He worked as a ground crew at an airport. He had also travelled abroad multiple times. Now, he is unemployed. He was abusing narcotic substances,” a police officer said.
Police have registered a case against Kripesh under various sections of BNS, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, NDPS Act and Official Secrets Act. The accused does not have any criminal antecedents. However, a detailed probe is on into his activities, especially how he procured drugs. “The wireless set was functional. We are probing whether the accused was overhearing wireless communications of various agencies using the device. A detailed probe is required in this regard. Also, we have got clues about persons who supplied Nitrazepam tablets to him,” a police officer said.