It started like many other cases do — with a quiet knock at the police station and a man holding a crumpled bunch of deposit slips in shaking hands.
“I lost everything, sir… ₹7.8 lakh,” he told P J Kuriakose, Station House Officer at Thadiyittaparambu. “They said I was earning profits through some trading app. But when I tried to withdraw it… they demanded a fee.”
Kuriakose leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. Another one. Another victim who believed in the dream of easy money.
But this case felt different. It was more layered and more brazen. And when the trail began to point all the way to Surat, Gujarat, the team knew it wasn’t going to be solved over phone calls.
“Let’s Drive”
The victim had been methodically drawn into a web of lies. Every transfer he made felt like a step toward a brighter future, until the day he tried to withdraw his supposed “profits.”
Suddenly, the scammers demanded a commission. It didn’t take long for him to realize he had been played.
Sub-Inspector K K Shibu, who had seen his fair share of online frauds, was quiet as the SIT team mapped out the route.
The fraudster had used fake trading platforms and multiple bank accounts and cleverly washed the money through cities like Aurangabad before landing it in Surat.
“We’ll spook him if we fly in uniform,” Shibu said, tapping the map. “But if we drive… no one will notice us.”
And so, with dusty clothes, minimal luggage, and no police markings, the Kerala team hit the road — all 1,800 kilometers of it.
Through Strange Towns and Silent Nights
They drove through the heart of India, using cloth and dried leaves to cover the Kerala number plates whenever they parked. At dhabas, they kept their badges hidden. At night, they slept inside the car or in roadside lodges.
“Never thought I’d be chasing a conman in Gujarat like some undercover agent,” Shibu laughed one night, sipping black tea under a flickering bulb.
Kuriakose smiled. “If you wanted a desk job, you picked the wrong station.”
They were tracking a man named Reeten Hakkani, 34 years old, a smooth operator who had left behind a trail of duped investors across states. His bank account had received the stolen funds, and now they just had to wait for him to slip.
Cat and Mouse in Surat
When the police froze Hakkani’s bank accounts, they didn’t expect what came next.
A message popped up on an officer’s phone. The number was unknown.
“Sir, my account is blocked. I need help.”
It was Reeten. Desperate to get his money back, he thought the officer was a bank manager. The team decided to play along.
“How much are you willing to pay for help?” the officer replied.
“₹2.54 lakh. You unblock my account, I’ll transfer immediately.”
“Meet me at the bank. Formalities,” came the reply.
The trap was set.
The Final Chase
On the day of the arrest, they waited outside the bank. Hakkani showed up, fidgeting with his helmet, scanning the area nervously.
“Looks like our guy,” whispered Shibu.
But Hakkani sensed something was off and ran. What followed was messy — not a sleek, high-speed chase — but a foot pursuit through traffic, until one of the plainclothes officers tackled him off a bike.
The scammer was caught.
Inside his phone were chats, account details, and records of fake apps he and his network had used to siphon lakhs from ordinary people.
The investigation also revealed that the stolen funds were ultimately withdrawn in Surat via cheque, as Senior Civil Police Officer Shibu later confirmed during the interrogation.
Why This Story Matters
This wasn’t just a technical bust — it was a manhunt. An 1,800-km journey led by local cops from a small station in Kerala, who refused to give up.
Kuriakose, Shibu, and the team didn’t wait for Delhi or Mumbai cyber cells to take over. They didn’t stop at digital trails. They packed up and went — because someone had to.
And perhaps that’s what makes this case special.
The criminals may sit in air-conditioned flats in Gujarat. They may hide behind fake UPI IDs and burner phones. But when the police show up — not in sirens, but in dusty cars and torn shoes — justice feels real again.
