Broker, another held for cheating Udupi City Municipal Council

Ganesh is among the two persons arrested by Udupi Town Police in connection with cheating the Udupi City Municipal Council of over ₹34,000.

The Udupi Town Police have arrested a woman and another person in connection with cheating the Udupi City Municipal Council of over ₹34,000.

The police have identified the accused as B. Shalini, 56, a broker, from Bannaje, Udupi and Ganesh, 24, of Kukkikatte, Udupi.

In a press note, the police said one Anand Suvarna approached the Commissioner of the Municipal Council, Mahanthesh, on February 16, with a challan for ₹34,730 related to property tax for the period of 12 years of his building in Kalmady. He told Mr. Mahanthesh that he had paid the amount on October 16, 2025, to Shalini, a broker who sits in front of the Municipal Council. Shalini handed him the challan containing the seal of the Union Bank of India.

Following the announcement by the council that a criminal case will be filed against those who have not paid property tax, Mr. Suvarna checked the Municipal Council website online, where it showed that the property tax was pending.

Mr. Mahanthesh also checked the property tax payment website and found the tax to be pending. He then called Shalini, who admitted to accepting ₹34,730 from Mr. Suvarna on October 16, 2025 and issuing him a fake challan containing the Union Bank of India seal, without remitting the amount to the municipal council.

After Mr. Suvarna paid ₹35,213 to the council, Mahanthesh filed a complaint accusing Shalini and others of cheating the Municipal Council out of ₹34,730. The complaint was registered under Sections 336(2), 336(3), 340(2), and 318(4) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A team led by Udupi Town Inspector Mahesh Prasad arrested Shalini and Ganesh. Shalini was acting as a broker for the payment of property and other taxes to the council for the past eight years. Ganesh’s services were outsourced by Union Bank of India, the police said.

The investigation is on to find out whether the accused have issued fake challans to more people, the police added.