AI representation/ChatGPT

For nearly 30 years, the police kept chasing the same man, except that he rarely remained the same man for long. Sam Antony could be Sam Peter. He could be Rahul Peter, Danny Tharakkan, Rajesh Robinson or Anthony Francis. Police know of at least five names he used. There could be more. The 64-year-old from Kerala did not just change his name. At different times, he allegedly changed his profession, his location and even the government agency he claimed to represent.Sometimes, he was an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). At other times, he presented himself as a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official. More recently, police say, he was living as Daniel Tharakan, a “retired senior officer” of the National Crime Investigation Bureau (NCIB). He carried fake passports, Aadhaar and PAN cards to support the identities, according to The Indian Express and various media reports.After nearly three decades of allegedly staying ahead of investigators, Antony was arrested in Kannur, Kerala, on September 1 by the Mangaluru City Police. Police now have a list of around 17 cases linked to him across several states. But investigators suspect that the list may not be the end of his story.

The man who could look like an officer

Antony was arrested in Kannur, Kerala, on September 1 by the Mangaluru City Police. (Photo credit: Indian Express)

What makes the case unusual is not simply the number of aliases. Police say Antony was exceptionally good at convincing people that he was someone important. Mangaluru East police inspector Anantha Padmanabha, who questioned him after his latest arrest, told The Indian Express that Antony was fluent in English and had a strong understanding of law.According to the officer, someone meeting him for the first time could speak to him for just 10 minutes and come away believing that he was a senior government officer or an elite businessman. His appearance helped. He was well-built, well-dressed, wore his shirt tucked in and kept his shoes polished. He carried himself, police said, like a bureaucrat. The confidence was part of the act. And apparently, it worked often enough to keep him moving for years.

He knew where troubled people were

Antony's alleged targets were not picked at random. According to police, he looked for businessmen already caught in difficult situations like bank fraud allegations, tax disputes, financial disagreements or cases involving central agencies. Then he would arrive with an offer. He could make the problem go away. His favourite identity, police said, was that of a senior NCIB officer. The organisation is a non-governmental body involved in crime-awareness activities, but Antony allegedly presented it to victims as though it were a powerful government investigative agency.He allegedly used fake letterheads, doctored messages and even fake raid videos to make the story believable. The more convincing the paperwork looked, the more credible the man appeared.Police are still trying to understand how he knew about some of the people facing trouble with central agencies. One officer told The Indian Express that investigators were yet to determine whether Antony obtained information from the media or had cultivated sources inside government agencies.

The Rs 1.13 crore case

Antony's known criminal trail is almost as old as some of the police officers now investigating him.

One of the cases illustrates the alleged method. In 2018, businessman Abdul Sharif's brother Shiyabuddin was being questioned by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence after customs officials seized a gold consignment at an airport. Police say Antony somehow learnt about the matter. He allegedly arrived with five associates, introduced himself as a senior NCIB officer and offered to get the case closed. The price kept coming. Over the next 10 months, police allege, Sharif paid Rs 1.13 crore in several installments.By the time he realised he had been cheated, the money was gone. He eventually approached the police, and an FIR was registered at Konaje police station in Karnataka in August 2019. There was another unusual episode that same year. In Bengaluru's Yelahanka New Town, police allege, Antony posed as an NCIB officer and rented an office. He ran it for seven months before disappearing without paying the rent. The office was temporary. So was the identity.

The first cases go back to 1997

Antony's known criminal trail is almost as old as some of the police officers now investigating him. According to The Indian Express, the first recorded case dates to 1997, when a cheating case was registered at Khairagarh police station in Chhattisgarh. His first recorded case in Karnataka came a year later, in 1998, at Kushalnagar Town police station.Police believe even that may not have been the beginning. Over the years, cases surfaced in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and other states. Around 17 cases involving cheating, impersonation and extortion are currently linked to him, including cases in Mangaluru, Ullal, Konaje, Udupi, Chikkaballapur, Kushalnagar and Bengaluru.

Then came the 2019 arrest

In September 2023, according to police, he stopped appearing before the court. Then he vanished.

On August 16, 2019, Mangaluru police received information that a senior NCIB officer was staying at Sai Arya Lodge. They found Antony, then allegedly using the name Sam Peter, along with seven associates. This time, he was not carrying only fake documents. Police recovered a revolver and a pistol, fake identity cards, cash, vehicles, mobile phones and property-related documents. Antony was booked for impersonation, criminal conspiracy, Arms Act offences and misuse of the State Emblem.It was during this investigation that police realised they had not simply caught another impersonator. They had caught a man wanted in cases across states. There had also been an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued against him under one of his aliases. As reported by The New Indian Express, the notice was issued in 2001 and later closed after an earlier arrest.

And then he disappeared again

Antony eventually secured bail. In September 2023, according to police, he stopped appearing before the court. Then he vanished. For nearly three years, investigators had no clear idea where he was. Police say he avoided registering SIM cards in his own name and did not conduct transactions through bank accounts held in his name. Investigators also found links to people who allegedly helped him financially, including a woman in Lucknow who police said had transferred money to him.

The photograph that ended the chase

About three months before his arrest, Mangaluru City Police reopened their efforts to trace Antony. Three special teams were formed. They knew only a few things: he was from Kerala, had spent considerable time in Chennai and had old associates who might know where he was. Then investigators discovered something strange. Antony had allegedly developed links with a Kerala politician and was attending public events. At one such event, he appeared as a chief guest. Police obtained photographs from the event. The man they had been looking for had essentially appeared in public.The photograph helped investigators locate him. On September 1, police arrested him in Kannur. He was allegedly carrying fake documents and was now calling himself Daniel Tharakan, a retired senior NCIB officer.According to a Karnataka police officer quoted by The Indian Express, the callers insisted that he was an honest and upright person who had been wrongly detained. The officer had to explain who the man actually was. Now, investigators are trying to work backwards through nearly three decades of aliases, addresses and cases.