COIMBATORE: Three persons have been arrested from Periyanaickenpalayam for cheating a moneylender of nearly Rs 2 crore under the pretext of doubling his money. The suspects have been identified as S Kalimuthu (28) from Watrap in Virudhunagar district, P Mohanraj (38) and his relative S Vijayakumar (35), both hailing from Tiruchengode in Namakkal district.
They were booked under sections 294 (b), 420 and 506 (ii) of IPC and were remanded in judicial custody on Saturday afternoon.
Police seized nine packs of dummy notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 100 face value that are mainly used by a film crew and are easily available on various e-commerce websites. This apart, they also seized three mobile phones, bronze vessels that look like temple kalasam, a laptop and a hard disk. The alleged mastermind, R Sadagoban (35) of Periyanaickenpalayam, who had employed the trio, is on the run. A team has been formed to trace him.
Sources said Mohanraj borrowed Rs 2 crore from Ravichandran (52), a moneylender from Nethaji Nagar in Namakkal, on various occasions during the last two years by promising him he would return the amount after getting huge returns through money doubling.
“As Mohanraj owns properties worth Rs 5 crore in Tiruchengode, Ravichandran had no problem in lending the money. But as he did not return the sum on time as promised, the moneylender went to the rented house at Srinithi Nagar near Press Colony in Periyanaickenpalayam where Mohanraj is staying. But instead of returning the money, the three suspects, under the influence of alcohol, threatened Ravichandran,” they said.
The police who started an investigation based on Ravichandran’s complaint found the gang is involved in cheating many under the pretext of money doubling and treasure hunting using dummy notes. Police sources said they have identified two more persons who were cheated by the gang.