KOTTAYAM: A 41-year-old man who reportedly defrauded various private financial institutions and went into hiding after publishing his own obituary in a newspaper has been apprehended. Gandhinagar police arrested Sajeev M R aka Subi from Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu on Friday.
According to officers, Sajeev, a resident of Kumaranalloor in Kottayam, had taken out a loan of Rs 4.5 lakh from Chaithanya Finance, a private finance institution in Kumaranalloor, after pledging rolled-gold jewellery in 2023. After securing the loan, he mysteriously disappeared. In a bizarre twist, Sajeev published a newspaper obituary, announcing his death and subsequent funeral in Adyar, Chennai. Questioning the obituary’s authenticity, the owner of Chaithanya Finance complained with the Gandhinagar police.
“Sajeev had previously taken out loans on multiple occasions and was a recognised client. However, on August 1, 2023, he secured a gold loan but failed to return to reclaim the collateral. Despite repeated attempts to reach him, we were unable to make contact. Upon further investigation, we found that he was known as ‘Subi’. And his relatives produced clippings of his obit,” said Alvin Jose, owner of Chaithanya Finance.
Interestingly, Alvin found that no one had attended Sajeev’s funeral. And this prompted Alivin to file a complaint with police. Police registered a case and started investigations. The mobile phones of Sajeev’s relatives were placed under surveillance and this helped officers to locate him to Kodaikanal recently.
“Later, I learned that he had defrauded several other private financial institutions in Kumaranalloor and Sankranthi. Police said Sajeev has already confessed to embezzling a total of Rs 10 lakh,” Alvin added.
Sajeev was produced before court and remanded. Police have launched a detailed investigation to ascertain the full nature of his activities.