CHENNAI: A hearing and speech-impaired man has been accused of cheating several persons in the community to the tune of Rs 2 crore through a scheme that promised double the investment. However, the man at the centre of the allegations, Santhosh Kumar, refuted the charges and submitted a complaint at the police commissionerate blaming another person, Sharan Thambi, for the fraud.
A delegation representing the victims met police officials of the Economic Offences Wing on Thursday to register their complaints. According to the complaint, the man, Santhosh Kumar, has been running an organisation for community members.
As he was able to communicate proficiently with speech and hearing-impaired persons, Kumar attracted investments from them and allegedly collaborated with Thambi, a resident of Thane in Maharashtra, for running the investment scheme. The complaint said that the scheme promised double the money invested in 45 days.
Several persons across the State, including from Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, made investments, it said, adding that a video of Santhosh Kumar explaining the scheme in sign language was widely circulated among the members.
“When we asked for returns, Santhosh Kumar issued death threats to several investors. Kumar’s mother is affiliated to a major political party,” one of the persons claiming to be a victim told reporters. Kumar refuted the allegations and accused Thambi of swindling the money. The complainants alleged that none of the police stations took their complaints seriously and registered an FIR.
Seven held for job fraud
Chennai: The Central Crime Branch police have arrested seven persons, including two women, for allegedly cheating a man of Rs 12 lakh on the promise of getting him a job in the railways. According to the police, the victim Purushotham of Annanur, an ITI certificate holder, approached a technician at ICF in 2019 to get a job in the railways and paid him Rs 12 lakh in instalments. One of the accused sent him an appointment letter that turned out to be fake.