The Ernakulam Rural police have made one more arrest in the case registered over the alleged cheating of a housewife to the tune of ₹17 lakh by promising her income through online work.
The arrested is Venkatesh, 34, of Tamil Nadu. He was arrested by the Ernakulam Rural cyber police. Already, five others had been arrested in the case.
The woman reportedly registered on a web portal at the instructions of the accused. She was given the task of rating various food items. To convince her, the accused reportedly made an initial payment.
Thereafter, she was allegedly prompted to invest money for greater profits. The victim reportedly made deposits of ₹5 lakh, ₹3 lakh, and ₹2 lakh to various accounts. For the initial investment, she was given a negligible return even as huge profits were shown against her account in the portal.
However, she realised the fraud when she was unable to withdraw the money. Thereafter, she lodged a police complaint. Venkatesh had fled abroad soon after the alleged fraud. The police then issued a lookout circular against him. The police said that the victim had deposited ₹3 lakhs in his account.
District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) M. Hemalatha had formed a special squad to probe the case and track down the accused.
Published – May 12, 2025 08:40 pm IST
