Conman, accomplice held in Mangaluru

A notorious conman, who posed as a top WHO official and cheated several people, and his driver-accomplice have been arrested by the Mangaluru police.

Basit Shah alias Shaukat Ahmed Lone (30) and his driver Baljinder Singh (48) were held in Barke police station limits on Saturday.

Mangaluru police Commissioner P S Harsha told reporters here on Saturday the two men were picked up after they were found moving in a suspicious manner in the city.

The car in which they were travelling had a signboard of World Health Organisation (WHO).

During questioning, Basit Shah said he had been posing as WHO director and cheating people in many states.

Shah initially claimed that he belonged to Mumbai.

However, police enquiries revealed that he was using a fake name and that he belonged to Kashmir and his original name was Shaukat Ahmed Lone.

Barke police registered a case, produced the accused in court which sent them to police custody.

The Commissioner said the accused ran a matrimonial site and cheated and exploited many women from Goa, Mumbai, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Jharkhand and other states besides Karnataka.

The driver, who is also an accomplice, told the police he had been working with Shah for the last two years.

Police will conduct a detailed investigation into the case and is trying to contact the victims of the conman, Harsha said.