After efforts spanning many days, the Kerala police on Thursday arrested the man who faked being an IPS officer from the Jammu and Kashmir cadre and swindled crores from 12 banks in the state.
Vipin Karthik (29) was nabbed by the police from Chittoor in Palakakd district, while boarding a bus. His partner-in-crime was his mother, Shyamala, who had been arrested from a rented home in Kozhikode on October 28. Vipin had managed to evade arrest by slipping out the back door at the time, and had been on the run.
Vipin and Shyamala have a history of faking their identities and taking loans from banks by producing fake documents such as forged salary slips. They reportedly managed to dupe 12 banks in Thrissur and Gurvayur of Rs 4 crore in over two years. The duo would take vehicle loans from banks, and later sell off the vehicles. They reportedly did this with 12 vehicles.
The crime came to light after a case was filed by a bank manager from Guruvayur.
Shyamala, like her son, would impersonate a retired state government information officer. During her arrest, the police also found fake IDs, documents and uniforms from the home.
It is also reported that Shyamala cheated a woman bank manager by borrowing about 770 grams of gold and Rs 25 lakhs from her claiming that Vipin was suffering from cancer and needed treatment.
"He went everywhere with the police uniform. He forged documents, nameplates, ID cards for cheating. He was absconding for last few days. Later he contacted one of his friends and that is how we could nab him. Since he is good at computers, he forged the documents himself," Range DIG S Surendran told media in Thrissur.
According to police sources, the mother son duo also fooled from police officials in Guruvayur and Thrissur. In fact, Vipin was allegedly engaged to a woman from Adoor, who, along with her family, were also under the impression that he is an IPS officer. In his application for the solemnization of marriage submitted at sub-registrar’s office, his profession was given as 'ASP of Police'. Many officers were invited for his wedding too.
Vipin had managed to hoodwink his ‘friends’ in the police to get him special privileges as well – like getting a special darshan pass in Guruvayur temple as an IPS officer.
Shyamala, who is from Thalassery in Kannur district, had earlier been terminated from her job at a fund audit office after she faked her salary slip. Vipin had been arrested once earlier after he falsely claimed to be an IT professional from Kochi to take car loan from a bank in Nadapuram in 2014. According to the police, Vipin held a diploma in hotel management.