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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Police have arrested a 36-year-old migrant construction worker from West Bengal for allegedly defrauding a supermarket in Vizhinjam of Rs 2.20 lakh by producing fake Google Pay transaction confirmations. The suspect reportedly visited the retail outlet 11 times across a span of about one month, walking away with provisions after falsely convincing the store staff that the digital payments had been completed successfully. Following his arrest in his home state, the accused was brought to Kerala and produced before a local court, which remanded him in judicial custody.
Police identified the accused as Mrityunjay Pal, 36, a native of Ghazipur in the Medinipur district of West Bengal. He had been staying in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was employed at local construction sites as a daily wage laborer. According to investigators, Pal targeted the Margin Free Market situated at Mukkola in Vizhinjam, systematically purchasing bulk provisions between July 21 and August 23 while giving the store staff the impression that he was clearing every bill through online mobile transfers.
Unsettled Accounts Expose Repeated Deception
The alleged scam came to light when the store management conducted a periodic reconciliation of its business accounts and digital receipts. During the audit, the staff discovered that none of the payments claimed to have been made through Google Pay during Pal’s visits had actually been credited to the market’s commercial bank account. Although the store clerks initially took his digital payment claims at face value, the cross-verification of daily transaction statements confirmed that the bank account had received no funds corresponding to the 11 separate purchases.
Upon tallying the value of the missing payments across all 11 instances, the management determined the total financial loss at Rs 2.20 lakh. The supermarket authorities subsequently approached the Vizhinjam police station and filed a formal written complaint detailing the discrepancies. Acting on the complaint, the Vizhinjam police registered a case against the suspect and launched a detailed investigation to trace his identity and whereabouts.
Interstate Manhunt Leads to Arrest in Bengal
A special investigation team analyzed the store’s billing data, recorded transaction schedules, and local leads, which eventually pointed to Pal’s background and residence in West Bengal. After discovering that the accused had left Kerala, a police squad traveled to Medinipur district and apprehended him from his native village. He was then brought back to Thiruvananthapuram on transit remand. Following police interrogation and the completion of mandatory legal procedures, he was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate, who sent him to judicial custody pending further legal proceedings.
Investigators are examining all aspects of the transactions, matching the specific billing entries against the dates of purchase to construct the final prosecution file. The primary evidence centers on the contradiction between the sales records entered at the billing desk and the corresponding absence of money in the merchant bank logs on those dates.
Caution Advised on Digital Payment Verification
The incident has highlighted the critical need for retail merchants and billing clerks to exercise caution while processing mobile digital payments. Law enforcement authorities noted that shopkeepers should never rely solely on transaction success screens, text messages, or status alerts displayed on a customer’s personal smartphone. Retailers are advised to verify that the money has entered their authorized merchant account or banking system before handing over goods, particularly in cases involving repeated or high-value purchases. Legal proceedings against the accused are underway as the investigation continues.
