Five names, 17 cases: Kerala man allegedly fooled victims across India for 30 years
A 64-year-old man from Kerala has been arrested after allegedly operating under at least five aliases and impersonating government officials for three decades. Police have linked him to 17 cases of fraud across multiple Indian states.
Why it matters
The case highlights significant security and identity verification vulnerabilities, as the suspect successfully deceived authorities and victims for nearly 30 years.
For nearly 30 years, the police kept chasing the same man, except that he rarely remained the same man for long. Sam Antony could be Sam Peter. He could be Rahul Peter, Danny Tharakkan, Rajesh Robinson or Anthony Francis. Police know of at least five names he used. There could be more. The 64-year-old from Kerala did not just change his name. At different times, he allegedly changed his profession, his location and even the government agency he claimed to represent.Sometimes, he was an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). At other times, he presented himself as a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official. More recently, police say, he was living as Daniel Tharakan, a “retired senior officer” of the National Crime Investigation Bureau (NCIB).
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