Kozhikode: The Kerala police have arrested a man for extorting huge sums of money from a Kannur native here by posing as a woman.

According to the police, Ubaidulla, a native of Narimoola,  Gudalur in Tamil Nadu, posed as a young woman named Shamna on social media to extort money from an NRI man.

He extorted an amount of Rs 6 lakh from NK Mohammed during the period 2021-22 after befriending him on social media. Based on Mohammed's complaint, police nabbed Ubaidulla  from Adivaram, along Kozhikode-Wayanad border on Tuesday.

The case

Ubaidulla befriended Mohammed on social media by posing as Shamna while the latter was working abroad. The close bond developed through their interactions was soon used to execute financial deals. Mohammed claimed in his complaint that Ubaidulla borrowed a total amount of Rs 6 lakh from him on different occasions.

Mohammed did not suspect any foul play as the 'woman' borrowed money as a loan with an assurance to repay it over the year in instalments. The transactions took place through bank accounts.

He however, realised that he was being conned when the money was not paid back on time.

He filed a complaint at the Kolavallur police station in Kannur following this. During their investigation, the Kolavallur police realised that the young woman Shamna was in fact Ubaidulla, a 37 year old man from Gudalur.

Ubaidulla has been remanded to custody for 14 days, police officials told Onmanorama.