CHENNAI: Two men who were absconding for nearly 17 years in a 2009 LIC cheque-fraud case, were arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Chennai. The suspects, Prathap (41) of Kumbakonam was arrested on August 31, and his associate Arjunan (50) of MG Nagar in Taramani was arrested on Thursday. Both were remanded in judicial custody.
The duo had been working together at a private bank in Chennai in 2009, where they became acquainted. The case was registered based on a complaint lodged that year by an LIC manager attached to the Anna Salai office.
According to the complaint, a maturity cheque for Rs 3,22,500 issued to LIC policyholder V Vijayakumar was sent to his address in Sowcarpet. However, the suspects allegedly intercepted the cheque, forged documents in Vijayakumar’s name and impersonated him to withdraw and misappropriate the amount from a bank.
The police said Prathap opened a bank account using a false name to encash the cheque and submitted a black-and-white photograph. This posed a challenge to the police as the photograph could not be matched with government records, where he had submitted different photographs.
However, Prathap was traced after the same photograph was found used in a document submitted to the Income Tax department. This helped the CCB’s Video Piracy Cell & Conventional Crime Investigation Wing trace his old address and subsequently track him down. Based on the information provided by him, the police arrested Arjunan.