CHENNAI: The escape of the man, who had successfully posed as an Income Tax (I-T) sleuth at Deepa’s house for nearly four hours, came as an embarrassment to the city police.
The man, who walked into MGR Amma Deepa Peravai general secretary J Deepa’s house close to the dawn on Saturday, claiming to be an I-T sleuth who had come as an advance party to a raid team, had scaled the compound’s wall and disappeared even as the policemen were waiting, right in front of him, to confirm the story with the I-T department. The man was also carrying a backpack.
“We received a call from Madhavan that they were having doubts on the person and we came to the house,” said a senior police officer. The police questioned the con-man and were awaiting a confirmation from the Income Tax Department when he escaped.
Interestingly, in the identity card he showed to officers had on it ‘Mole on the nack’ instead of ‘Mole on the neck’ in the ‘identity marks’ section. The warrant also stated that it was from ‘State of Tennessee’ (USA).
The city police formed special teams under the Assistant Commissioners of T Nagar, Teynampet and Vadapalani to nab the person. A case was been registered by the Mambalam police. The photographs of the conman were also sent to all police stations and railway stations.
Madhavan under scanner
Meanwhile, the police is refusing to take Deepa’s husband Madhavan’s statement on face value. Police sources told Express that the drama could have been staged by members of MGR Amma Deepa Peravai to divert attention.
When police personnel checked the house for CCTV footage to nab the person, all the four CCTV cameras around the house were seen facing the wall. “We are also inquiring as to whether Madhavan and Deepa had a hand in the whole incident,” said a cop. Deepa’s absence and Madhavan claiming that he had no suspicion on the person while interacting created doubts on the couple as well, said a senior police officer. After filing a formal complaint at the Mambalam police station, Madhavan told the press that he saw nothing unusual in the entire incident. If he was himself involved in the scam, he wouldn’t not have registered a complaint, he pointed out.
The incident came after a local businessman lodged a complaint at Chennai city police commissionerate on February 5 alleging that J Deepa had cheated him off `1.12 crore after promising him the post of a district secretary.
Fake IFS officer from Puducherry arrested
Chennai: A man aged 28 who posed himself as an IFS officer was arrested by city police on Saturday evening. According to the police, Gokula Harikrishnan from Puducherry was running an employment agency at Perungudi here. A youth identified as Imran (25), of Periamet in the city, approached Krishnan for a job abroad. Krishnan had allegedly told Imran that he was an ‘IFS officer’ and had contacts abroad. Believing his words, the latter gave him `5 lakh two weeks ago for a job abroad. After Imran realised that he had been cheated, he lodged a complaint with the Vepery police. Following this,
Gokula Harikrishnan was nabbed, police said.