KOCHI: The drama that unfolded in the UAE on August 20 with the arrest of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) chief and NDA state convenor Thushar Vellapally in a bounced cheque case took a curious turn on Monday as audio clips started circulating in which the complainant was heard asking his friend for a loan of `5 lakh to get a blank cheque signed by Thushar.
Nazil Abdullah, the NRI businessman from Thrissur, who filed the complaint, admitted that it was his voice but claimed it was edited. Meanwhile, he filed a civil case in a Dubai court in a bid to stop Thushar from leaving the country without settling the deal.
Nazil had lodged a complaint with Al Nuaimia police station in Ajman, UAE, alleging that Thushar had refused to pay AED 9 million (nearly Rs 18 crore) due to him in a 10-year-old deal. In the audio clip, Nazil is heard asking his friend Kabir to arrange Rs 5 lakh. He says a person in the UAE is in possession of a cheque issued by Thushar and he is ready to hand over the cheque on payment of Rs 5 lakh.
He is heard offering a partnership deal to start a business venture, if Thushar agrees to pay AED 2 million to settle the case. Nazil said the conversation took place three months ago and the friend might have handed over the audio clip due to pressure.
“I had pledged the blank cheque and the documents pertaining to my contract with Thushar’s Boeing Construction Company LLC with a third person to avail a loan. I sought a Rs 5 lakh loan from my friend to close the deal and get the documents released. They have released an edited version of the conversation which I can prove,” he said.
Nazil said he has filed a civil case also on August 29 as Thushar was trying to leave the country. However, Thushar said the audio clip has proved his innocence and revealed the plot to trap him. “I didn’t have any document regarding the deal with him as my company was shut down years ago.
However, my friends here and the bank authorities helped me collect old documents which clearly prove I don’t owe him money. The cheque was signed in 2011 and the UAE had introduced new cheque leaves with watermark in 2012. The old cheque could have been stolen from my office and it is not valid,” he said.