Fraudsters often build trust by delivering benefits before deceiving their victims. However, in this, a 35-year-old woman went much further, cheating not just a few individuals but an entire region, including her husband and relatives, all to maintain a lie she told.
It was in 2018 that the family of Kiran (name changed), a native of Deepthi Nagar in Adimali, began the search for a bride. A trusted acquaintance informed them about a young woman living in a nearby locality — educated and from a respectable family background.
Kiran and his family visited the home of Anusha. The meeting turned out to be promising. During initial interactions, one of Anusha’s relatives mentioned her desire to continue her studies. They expressed their support for her plans. With mutual understanding, Kiran and Anusha were married.
A few months later, Kiran found a job abroad. And he decided to move overseas. Anusha remained back home, preparing for competitive bank examinations.
In 2019, while Kiran was still abroad, Anusha told the family that she had secured a job in a bank in Kothamangalam. Following her appointment, she quickly settled into her role. She maintained a disciplined routine, leaving for work punctually every morning after helping with household responsibilities.
Neighbours grew familiar with her daily routine, and local private bus conductors and drivers, too, recognised her regular schedule. Relatives and neighbours frequently approached her for assistance with banking procedures. However, everything took an unpleasant turn thereafter.
“She began informing close relatives and neighbours about a scheme at her bank that allegedly offered unusually high returns for depositing gold.
She claimed that she herself had deposited almost all her gold ornaments in the scheme, saying the returns would help her and her husband buy land, build a house, and even purchase a car. She further asserted that such deposits would make it easier to secure personal or housing loans,” said an officer from the Adimali police station.
Some relatives handed over their gold ornaments to her for deposit. She also advised them not to disclose these transactions to her in-laws, said the officer.
During this period, Kiran made his first visit home from abroad. Though Anusha appeared excited, she also seemed busy with her responsibilities as a bank employee. When Kiran offered to drop her off at work, she always denied it. At no point did Kiran suspect anything, as her words were always affectionate.
But things took a turn during the pandemic when he lost his job. In December 2025, Anusha told him that she had applied for a departmental examination for a higher post and that a promotion interview was at the doorstep.
As she said, on December 21, 2025, she left home to attend the interview. But as hours passed, she did not return at her usual time, raising concern.
Worried, Kiran approached officials at the bank branch in Kothamangalam to inquire about her. What he heard there came as a shock — there was no employee named Anusha.
“Based on a complaint filed by her husband, we registered a missing person case and launched a detailed investigation. After nearly two months, we got a breakthrough when her mobile tower location was traced to Delhi. Acting on this lead, we tracked her down and brought her back from a relative’s house where she had been staying,” said Athira Pavithran, the then sub-inspector with Adimali police station and the investigation officer.
During the interrogation, she explained why she left her family.
The officer explained that Anusha had initially lied to avoid questions about bank exam coaching. She claimed she had passed the examination and later said she had secured a job as a clerk at a bank in Thiruvananthapuram.
To maintain the illusion, she began arranging money for the family as if it were her salary. Initially, she pledged her own gold ornaments to raise funds.
Later, she falsely claimed she had been transferred to a bank in Kothamangalam and went on to convince close relatives and friends to invest in a fraudulent gold deposit scheme, using the pledged money to present it as her income.
Around the same time, her husband lost his job and returned to Kerala, which made her hesitant to reveal the truth.
“She was initially taken into custody in connection with the missing person case. Later, multiple cheating cases were registered against her at the Adimali and Kothamangalam police stations,” said Athira.
The officer further added that Anusha had also lost a portion of the money through online trading schemes, which worsened her financial situation and eventually forced her into hiding. She had to weave a web of lies to hide the first one.