Police on Saturday took into custody Kavitha G Pillai, accused of duping students and parents of about `6 crore by promising seats in self-financing medical colleges.
Police nabbed 38-year-old Kavitha, proprietor of the Ernakulam-based KGK Group of Consultancy, from a lodge near Thirunelly Mahavishnu Temple around 10 am after being tipped off by the lodge manager who identified her from newspaper photographs.
Kavitha had been absconding since five cases were registered against her in Ernakulam under IPC Sections 406 and 420 for criminal breach of trust and cheating. Police had issued a lookout notice for her.
Thirunelly ASI K V Joseph said the arrest would be recorded only after a police team from Kochi reached there.
Kavitha, who hails from Ottapanakkal near Edathua in Alappuzha district, allegedly cheated people by promising MBBS seats in Pushpagiri, Amrita, Amala and KIMS medical colleges, among others, after accepting amounts ranging from Rs 15 to 20 lakh as the first installment.
According to police, Kavitha, along with her son Vishnu and driver Muhammad Althaf, had been staying in the lodge for the past five days. She was reportedly undergoing treatment for back pain at a medical centre near the Thirunelly bus station. Kavitha had introduced herself at the lodge as Sangeetha and Althaf as her brother Praveen.
Police added that Kavitha had on Friday booked a taxi to escape to Karnataka after coming to know about the lookout notice.