Bangalore:
The city police have arrested Neepa N Raj, a 38-year-old woman and her two accomplices in connection with cheating seven people across the country of Rs 7 crore.
Neepa had been running the racket for the past two years, selling duplicate bank deposit receipts, and using fake Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) identity cards.
Neepa used to work as a bank employee in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She wanted to live a luxurious life, but could not support her lifestyle with just a monthly salary, and was always looking for other sources to make more money. Her obsession caused a rift in her marriage, following which she got a divorce in 2006.
In 2008, she came in contact with two bank customers -- Sayyad Arman and Premal Chandan, and discovered that they were habitual cheaters.
Instead of informing the police, Neepa started blackmailing them. Eventually, the duo agreed to involve her in their schemes. Together, they duped a timber merchant of Rs 75 lakh. She approached him and told him that she was a bank employee, and was in urgent need of cash. She gave him duplicate fixed deposit receipts worth Rs 90 lakh to convince him.
But before he could realise that he was cheated and could file a complaint, Neeta resigned from her job, and fled to Tamil Nadu with Sayyad and Premal. The fake documents were produced there, and they had many contacts there. But this time, Neepa had a new racket in mind.
She and her accomplices got fake CBI identity cards made, and got themselves new wardrobes to look the part. This way, they cheated several moneylenders and private bank owners in Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, six in each state.
But their luck ran out this time. While scouring for 'new targets' the beat police recognised her, and started asking her questions. This scared Neepa, and she tried to flee, but was apprehended by the alert cops. After further questioning, the police arrested her accomplices as well.
In all, they have cheated over Rs 7 crore from across the country, and had Rs 15 crore worth of FDRs during their arrest. Jalahalli PI M S Satyanarayana said, "We are investigating their other crimes, it seems like they were running a huge racket. We have confiscated their fake identity cards."