THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress leader Ananthapuri Manikandan has been arrested in connection with a high-value property fraud case involving forged documents. He was apprehended by the Museum Police on Tuesday morning in Bengaluru after weeks in hiding and is expected to be brought to Thiruvananthapuram by Tuesday evening.
The case concerns the alleged fraudulent acquisition of a house and property worth approximately ₹4.5 crore in Jawahar Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram. Police said fake documents were used to take possession of a ten-room house and 14 cents of land belonging to a US-based doctor. The property was subsequently sold using the forged papers.
Manikandan, who contested as a Congress candidate from the Attukal ward in the last local body elections, is the prime accused in the case. His brother and fifth accused, E Mahesh, was arrested last week.
According to police, Manikandan used Mahesh’s licensed credentials to generate the forged documents, despite possessing a valid licence himself. The e-stamp and registration fees for the transaction were also processed using Mahesh’s credentials.
Two others had been arrested earlier, and based on the information obtained from them, police were able to trace Manikandan’s whereabouts. Further investigation is currently underway.