Married woman, seven men arrested in honey-trap and blackmail case

[email protected] (CD Network | Photos by Suresh)
July 31, 2015

Mangaluru, Jul 31: In a case of alleged kidnapping, blackmail and extortion of money, Dakshina Kannada DCIB police led by Bantwal ASP Rahul Kumar have nabbed eight accused including a married woman from Venur and Belthangady police station limits.

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Addressing a press conference at his office here on Friday, Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Dr Sharanappa S D said that acting on a complaint lodged by one of the victims Abdul Basheer, the police team arrested eight accused – who were part of a gang – in an apparent pre-planned case of honey-trapping and blackmail.

The police arrested Mohammed Asif alias Asif (25) and Abdul Latheef alias Abdullah (36), residents of Goliangadi in Kukkedi village, Sabeer (25), resident of Maddadka, Aboobaker Siddiq (21) and Hashim (25), residents of Ulthoor in Kukkedi village, Sulaiman (35), resident of Padangadi village, Abdul Majeed (22), resident of Nittede village, and Zareena (27), wife of Hamza Nekkilu from Uruvalu village. All the accused are from Belthangady taluk.

According to the complaint, Abdul Basheer had been travelling in his relation Mohammed Haaris's auto rickshaw, when his acquaintance Asif from Goliangadi called on his mobile phone and requested him to drop a woman in the auto rickshaw from Laila to Ujire.

As per his request, they picked the woman and were travelling towards Ujire when seven youth travelling in a Maruti Ritz and Mahindra Bolero waylaid the auto rickshaw and forcefully took the three occupants to a desolated place. One of the accused Abdul Latheef had also been impersonating as a police officer from the crime branch.

The accused then allegedly took away mobile phones from victims Abdul Basheer and Mohammed Haaris, a passport and Rs 4,500 in cash from Abdul Basheer and began blackmailing them with photographs taken with the woman for a sum of Rs 10 lakh. They also threatened the victims to file a false rape case on them, if they did not hand over the money.

After the police registered a case, they conducted investigation and found that the woman was also involved with the accused. However, there was no evidence that her husband knew of her involvement with such activities, said Dr Sharanappa, adding that four other accused were suspected to be involved in the crime who would soon be arrested.

Five arrested for murder of elderly man

Dr Sharanappa also said that the Sullia and Subramanya police also cracked a missing persons case where an elderly man had gone missing under mysterious circumstances on July 14.

After Jayananda (53) was found dead in the forest near Peruvaje near Sullia, the police conducted investigation and arrested five accused including his wife Lalita (40) on charges of murder.

When the police questioned Lalita’s friend Dhananjaya (31), he confessed to murdering Jayananda with the help of Chandrakanta (26) who had been hired to kill the victim. The police have arrested Dhananjaya, Lalita, Chandrakanta, Dinesh (29) and Sanchith (25) as accused in the case.

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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News Network
December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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