After absconding for more than three years, Sabarinath, the prime accused in the Total4U fraud case, surrendered before the Magistrate Court here on Monday morning.
Sabarinath along with his advocate appeared before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, who remanded him in judicial custody till May 5. Sabarinath told the court that he had been on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas and had not fled the country. He said he had left the state three years ago, fearing for his life as he used to get threatening messages.
He was sent to the district jail though he had pleaded against it. A native of Neyyattinkara, Sabarinath went missing on March 19, 2011, from his ancestral home about a month after he got bail. Later, police issued a look-out notice, believing that he might have escaped to the Gulf. As many as 34 cases have been registered against Sabarinath for swindling his investors of `200 crore through his fraudulent firm Total4U since 2008. According to police, Sabarinath had lured the investors promising high returns within a short time span.
The probe started by local police in August 2008 was later transferred to the Crime Branch.
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