Five-member gang nabbed for cheating bizman of Rs 1.7 crore

Coimbatore: The rural police have arrested a five-member gang for cheating a businessman of Rs 1.7 crore at Kilavanpudur Pirivu near Anaimalai in Pollachi.
The arrested people were identified as M Sathish, 30, of Alathur, A Shimjith, 24, of Malappuram, X Manoj, 30, of Ernakulam, S Bilal, 26, of Ernakulam and T Sasikanth, 25, of Kasaragod. Police seized Rs 5 lakh, a car, four knives, an air pistol and 19 pellets from them. They were booked under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) of Indian Penal Code and 25 (1) (A) of the Arms Act, 1959. Police detained gang leader Anoopkumar of Palakkad and seized a pistol from him.
The complainant, M Muthu, 67, of Kilavanpudur Pirivu near Anaimalai, had lodged a complaint with the Anaimalai police on September 4. “Anoopkumar and his family had stayed in Muthu’s resort at Kilavanpudur Pirivu last year. He visited the resort alone several times and befriended Muthu,” a police officer said.
Muthu sold the resort to Shajahan of Dindigul for Rs 1.35 crore and deposited the amount in his Canara Bank account on July 24. He already had Rs 37.50 lakh in the account.
On September 2, Muthu reached the bank to withdraw Rs 1,72,50,000. “He was accompanied by Anoopkumar and his friend Sathish. While returning home with the cash, Muthu requested Anoopkumar to keep the amount with him as he was afraid of burglars. He asked Anoop to return the money on September 3. However, Anoop never returned,” the officer added.