Nilambur: A woman has been arrested for allegedly extorting around Rs 3 crore, from multiple persons, pretending as an employee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The accused, Shibila (28), hails from Tharippa at Akampadam in Nilambur, Malappuram.

A police team led by inspector Sunil Pulikkal apprehended Shibila following a complaint by a youth in Akampadam. The complainant alleged that Shibila swindled Rs 10 lakh from him promising a cashier job at a supermarket in Canada. The police also found that Shibila defrauded several persons, including a gold trader.

Shibila's modus operandi, according to the police, is to deceive money from people by offering a bank loan. For this, she convinced her relatives and local people that she earned a job in the RBI office, in Thiruvananthapuram.

Shibila offered a loan worth Rs 80 lakh to a businessman who runs jewellery shops in Akampadam and Salem. She swindled Rs 30 lakh from him several times on the pretext of paying taxes and meeting other expenses. Cheques were given to him in a bid to convince him of the genuineness. When Shibila demanded more money, the businessman got suspicious and enquired at the RBI office in Thiruvananthapuram. He then came to know that Shibila was not an employee of RBI.

When the businessman produced the cheque given by Shibila to the bank, it bounced. Following his complaint, the Salem Mettur court issued an arrest warrant against Shibila.

Meanwhile, the Kerala police registered a case on the complaint of the youth from Akampadam. According to police, similar complaints have cropped up against her from Wayanad, Malappuram, and Thrissur districts. Cases have also been registered against the accused at Ambalavayal, Mannuthy, Vadakkencherry, and Tirurangadi police stations. The woman is said to be a post-graduate.