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Manipal: Six employees of a battery-operated vehicle service provider at the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) campus have been arrested for allegedly diverting passenger fares amounting to Rs 12 lakh through a duplicate QR code, police said. The accused stopped using the company’s official QR code from April 1, 2026, and allegedly created a separate transaction account and a personal merchant QR code, according to police. Police said Rs 12 lakh was allegedly diverted through the account and later distributed among the accused. Based on a complaint filed by the company’s human resources manager on Oct 2, Manipal police registered a case under Sections 316(4), 316(5), 318(2), 318(3), 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The accused, arrested on Oct 2, were identified as Siddamurthy G, 29, from Vijayanagar district; Shivaraj Naik, 30, from Udupi; Sudeep, 30, from Chithradurga; Jitesh L Kanchan, 29, from Manjeshwar, Keralam; Muthanna Adinavar, 32, from Belagavi; and MB Avinash, 24, from Belthangady.
They were produced before a court and subsequently taken into police custody for further investigation, police said. They allegedly collected passenger fares through the duplicate QR code and diverted the money to a bank account held by Aishwarya , wife of accused Muthanna Adinavar.