CBI books two Kerala men, 2 cops in Rs 27.5 lakh auto dealership fraud case
TWO Kerala men and two state policemen were booked by the CBI in a case related to duping a woman investor in the garb of granting an automobile dealership and the subsequent destruction of evidence in the matter, an official said on Thursday.
The CBI First Information Report (FIR) was registered on Wednesday under the supervision of Divya Sara Thomas, HoB, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Thiruvananthapuram, on the direction of the Kerala High Court, which was approached by complainant Jyolsna Binu, a resident of Karakkad Village, Chengannur, Alappuzha.
Binu alleged that she and her husband were duped of Rs 27.5 lakh by Soni P Bhaskar and M.K. Varadarajan, both residents of Pathanamthitta.
The CBI FIR said that Binu complained that the accused Bhaskar and Varadarajan made her believe that they were the Manager and Legal Advisor, respectively, of a partnership firm by the name ESSEN Bankers.
She alleged that the two collected a total amount of Rs 27.5 lakhs from her on different occasions during the period between 2003 to 2007, with the offer that she would be provided with a dealership in the automobile business proposed to be commenced by them by appointing her husband as Managing Director.
The complainant alleged that thereafter the two cheated her without fulfilling the above assurance or giving back the amount collected from her. The complainant stated that the above amount was paid by way of two cheques of Rs 3.50 lakh each and cash of Rs 20.50 lakh.
The CBI FIR said that during the investigation commission of offence under section 201 IPC - causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender – with the involvement of A. Abhilash, Detective Inspector, and Krishnakumar, Detective Sub Inspector, came to light.
“Accordingly, offence U/s 201 IPC was added and A. Abhilash, Detective Inspector, and Krishnakumar, Detective Sub Inspector, were added as accused,” said the CBI FIR registered under penal provisions of cheating, criminal act done in common intention, causing disappearance of evidence of an offence.
“The FIR is being forwarded to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvananthapuram,” said the CBI FIR signed by Divya Sara Thomas, IPS, Superintendent of Police, CBI.
Earlier, in a petition before the High Court, the complainant alleged that the state police investigators made misleading statements regarding the recovery of two cheque leaves from the State Bank of Travancore, Chengannur, and also failed to present the above cheque leaves before the court concerned.
The petitioner claimed that her inquiries revealed that the above cheque leaves “seized” by the state police investigators were missing.
Suspecting that the aforesaid cheques, which were crucial pieces of evidence, were deliberately destroyed to save the culprits, the petitioner made a detailed representation against the two Kerala Police investigators.
