Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
With inputs from Br Joseph Crasta

Mangaluru, Sep 29: A recent incident has given rise to the possibility of fraudulent gangs operating in Dakshina Kannada and Kasargod districts that extort money from Christian institutes.

Two men, Rambabu and Shivam Venkatesh, surfaced on the radar when the latter was caught by the police after lying about needing funds for his education. After being taken into custody, police found three mobiles, expensive items and a big list of numbers of bishops, priests, nuns, and charitable institutes in his bag. A list of his alleged targets.

Shivam Venkatesh, from Telangana, was taken into custody for interrogation on Thursday September 28 evening.

Shivam visited Snehalaya Rehabilitation Centre on September 28 seeking financial support for his studies. The centre however had received information about him being a fraud and filed a complaint at the Manjeshwar police station, after which he was taken into custody.

Manjeshwar probationary SI Srijith said the suspect was still under interrogation. One of Shivam's team members flew to Hyderabad after hearing of Shivam's arrest. Police managed to bring him back to Manjeshwar police station.

"They have already cheated many Christian priests including Fr Marcel Saldana of Kumbla parish, and sisters of various convents in Kasaragod district. The police suspect that they have a big team and are spread out in Kasargod and Dakshina Kannada districts. Their daily target is Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000," said Raju Stephan D'Souza from Kumbla.

After getting news of the police taking Shivam into custody, Fr Marcel Saldanha, Raju Stephan D'Souza, Joseph Crasta, and Roshan Rodrigues Kumbla, visited Manjeshwar police station and filed individual complaints.