Bangalore man with over 200 aliases held

This fraudster with more than 200 aliases had such an ingenious way of changing his get-up that his photos belied his identity. He produced the same set of photos to get PAN cards, ID cards and voter IDcards for opening accounts in financial firms and availing loans to buy electronic goods, which he later sold for a lesser price.
When the police arrested Jayasheelan, 29, they found 88 credit cards in different names. They also seized electronic goods worth Rs14 lakh.

Jayasheelan, a resident of Mavalli and a native of Tamil Nadu, came to the city three years ago with his mother and sister after completing his class X.

To support his family, he became a vendor, selling cashew nuts on the roadside. When he could not make ends meet, he devised a plan to make a quick buck and started visiting agents who arranged for PAN and ration cards. Using aliases, false addresses and different get-ups, he managed to get PAN cards, ration cards and even a voter ID cards.

“Each time, he changed his hairstyle and dress to get PANcards, ration cards and voter IDs. He also got these cards for his mother, sister and brother-in-law,” sub-inspector HP Nanjundaiah said.

Carrying his ATM cards and cheque books, he visited electronic showrooms in malls that offered loan facilities. He then purchased LED and LCD TVs worth more than `1 lakh. In each account, he kept a balance of Rs5,000, which he paid to the shopkeepers as advance.

The fraudster’s luck ran out when one of his victims working in a financial company filed a complaint with the Koramangala police that a person using different ID proofs managed to purchase goods, misusing their finance service.

When the police began investigating, they came to know that a man was selling high-end TVs to customers for low price in Koramangala. To check this, they met Jayasheelan in plain clothes as customers and arrested him.

On interrogation, Jayasheelan told the police that he managed to get the ID proofs by paying hefty commission to the agents and brokers. He said for getting each ID, he changed his address. Since the TVs were sold for a mere Rs20,000 to Rs25,000, he had many customers.

The police seized 22 LCD TVs, a home theatre, and more than 200 credit and debit cards and the passbooks from him.