The Coimbatore city police arrested three persons in connection with producing false documents to help a Sri Lankan gangster Maddumage Lasantha Chandana Perera alias Angoda Lokka, sources said.
Lokka died in Coimbatore and his body was cremated in Madurai in July. His identity and the deception came to light after his death was reported to the police to move his body to Madurai. Investigations found that a woman from Madurai and a man from Tiruppur forged documents for Lokka, and a Sri Lankan woman named Amani Thanji, 27, helped them hide in Coimbatore.
Amani Thanji, from Colombo, Sivakami Sundari, 36, from Madurai, and S. Dyaneswaran, 32, of Erode, currently residing in Tiruppur, were arrested by the Peelamedu police on Sunday.
Investigation revealed that Lokka had stayed in India as Pradeep Singh and obtained an Aadhaar card under the identity. They were booked under Sections 120 B, 177, 182, 202, 212, 417, 419, 466, 468 and 471 of the IPC.
According to the police, Sundari approached the Peelamedu police station on July 4 stating that her relative Pradeep Singh died of cardiac arrest and submitted a copy of his Aadhaar card. The police found that the card was obtained using forged documentation and the deceased was a Sri Lankan fugitive, who was staying with Thanji at Cheran Ma Nagar on Kalapatti road in Coimbatore.
Investigating further, the police found that Dyaneswaran and Sundari had forged several documents for them. It was learnt that Thanji took Lokka to a private hospital with complaints of chest pain late on July 3, where he was declared dead on arrival. The body was taken to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and the autopsy was done the next day. Sundari approached the police on July 4 to complete post-mortem formalities, after which the body was taken to Madurai and cremated.
Coimbatore City Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan said a detailed investigation was under way.