MANGALURU: After nearly three years on the run, a 64-year-old alleged serial fraudster wanted in around 17 cheating and extortion cases across several states was arrested by the Mangaluru City Crime Branch (CCB). Police said the accused allegedly impersonated an NCIB officer to dupe and extort his victims.
Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said the accused, Sam Peter alias Danny Tharakkan alias Anthony, was arrested in Kannur, Kerala, on Monday night. He had allegedly been evading trial after securing bail and was wanted in multiple cases registered in Karnataka and other states.
Sam Peter was first arrested by the Mangaluru East police in 2019 for allegedly posing as a senior officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and extorting money from people by promising to settle financial disputes, bank fraud and tax-related cases. He later obtained bail but failed to appear before the court after September 2023 and had been on the run since.
“CCB has done an excellent job in tracking and arresting him,” Reddy said, describing the accused as a notorious criminal who frequently changed his identity and moved across states to evade arrest.
Police said the accused operated under several aliases, including Rahul Peter, Rajesh Robinson, Roy Jacob, Robin Richardson, Anthony Francis, Sharon Francis and Danny Tharakkan, among others. Investigators believe he routinely assumed new identities after committing offences in different places.
Police records show that around 17 criminal cases involving cheating, impersonation and extortion are registered against him in Mangaluru, Ullal, Konaje, Udupi, Chikkaballapur, Kushalnagar and Bengaluru, besides cases in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Officials said an Interpol Red Corner Notice had earlier been issued against the accused under one of his aliases in 2001, but it was subsequently closed after his earlier arrest.
Despite that, he allegedly continued his criminal activities. The accused has been handed over to the Mangaluru East police for further legal proceedings.
