MANGALURU: Two keepers of the law seem to have given skulduggery a new dimension. Drawn by the prospect of making some big bucks, they quietly sold off a luxury car which was seized in connection with a fraud case. But wait! The long arm of the law did catch up with them too.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) Vinay A Gaonkar told TNSE that the two officers Police Inspector K K Ramakrishna, and Police Sub-Inspector Kabbal Raj were posted with the crime branch in Mangaluru when they arrested three Kerala-based businessmen for allegedly cheating several people in Dakshina Kannada in a ponzi scheme.
Three high-end cars a BMW, a Porsche and a Jaguar were also seized from them. But, the officers had shown the seizure of only the BMW and the Porshe on record, and not the Jaguar. The cost of the missing car is said to be around Rs 50 lakh. The incident came to light when the accused businessmen came out on bail and wanted to get the cars released.
M’luru top cop recommends CID inquiry into sale of car
Police said the Kerala-based businessmen Tommy Mathew and T Rajan, believed to be the promoters of Eliya Construction and Builders Pvt Ltd, were arrested after a woman from Mangaluru lodged a complaint against them with the city police.
In her complaint, lodged on October 16, 2020, the woman had said that hundreds of people had invested money to the tune of crores in the company after they were promised high returns, but they were cheated. The woman claimed she had invested Rs 4.5 lakh.
Director General and Inspector General of Police Praveen Sood on Saturday suspended the two police officers, pending an inquiry by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), for their alleged involvement in the sale of the car.
Police Inspector K K Ramakrishna is now posted with the Narcotics Wing, Mangaluru, and Sub-Inspector Kabbal Raj, is with the Chikkamagaluru District Crime Records Bureau. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner N Shashikumar had ordered an inquiry into the incident by DCP Vinay Gaonkar, who submitted a 35-page interim report a few days ago.