Woman arrested for conning people of cash, husband on run

THANJAVUR: The cybercrime police here arrested a woman for allegedly colluding with her husband in posing as an assistant to the District Collector and soliciting donations from personalities like doctors and a textile showroom owner in Thanjavur city. The man reportedly has earlier also hoodwinked other donors by impersonating Collectors of other districts. 

According to sources, District Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver on July 19 wrote to the district Superintendent of Police of being brought to his notice of a person identifying himself as Manimaran who fraudulently contacted doctors. Claiming to be an assistant to the Collector, the person demanded money from them, he added.  The person also provided a bank account number for transferring the money, the Collector further said, adding that the caller gave another contact number mentioning it to be the district head’s.

Based on the complaint, the Cyber Crime Police station functioning out of the District Police Office (DPO) registered a case under various sections and formed three special teams.  Based on the calls made by the accused, the police reached Reeta Babilona (50), wife of Santhana Bharathy at Veppampattu in Tiruvallur district, and served a notice to appear at the Cyber Crime Police station on July 26.

Appearing at the station, Reeta reportedly confessed that she along with her husband Santhana Bharathy conspired to impersonate the Collector’s assistant. She said her husband told her over phone that he contacted a textile showroom owner and a few doctors in Thanjavur in the manner and asked for donations for Covid-19 relief work. The bank account details of a woman running a beauty parlour in Coimbatore was given to the prospective donors, she added. 

Police sources added that Babilona’s husband had earlier hoodwinked donors by impersonating the Collectors of the Nilgiris, Tiruchy, Tiruppur and Vellore. A search is on for him.