The police have booked a retired Kerala High Court judge in a case involving the alleged cheating of people by falsely promising scooters and laptops at half price using CSR funds.
Justice Ramachandran Nair has been named as the third accused in the case, alongside Anandu Krishnan, the prime accused, who has been arrested, and K N Ananthakumar, chairman of the National NGO Confederation, who is listed as the first accused in the FIR registered by Perinthalmanna police on February 6, a police officer said on Sunday.
Justice Nair, who was appointed by the state government to probe the Munambam Waqf land dispute, is reportedly a patron of the NGO Confederation, which is implicated in the multi-crore fraud.
According to the FIR, the case was registered based on a complaint by 49-year-old Danimon from Valamboor, Malappuram.
The complainant alleged that the three accused swindled Rs 34 lakh through an organisation called KSS Angadippuram.
They had promised to provide laptops, two-wheelers, and sewing machines to beneficiaries, claiming that half of the cost would be covered by the NGO Confederation and CSR funds, while the other half would be contributed by the recipients, the FIR said.
The FIR further stated that the accused collected payments on multiple occasions between April and November last year, but failed to deliver the promised items, thereby defrauding the complainant.
Justice Nair, however, refuted the allegations, stating that he had been falsely implicated and was never appointed as a patron of the alleged organisation.
"There are many who wanted to disrupt the work of the Munambam Commission, and it is suspected that this case was filed because of that," he told the media in Kochi.
He clarified that he had been appointed as an advisor to the organisation, but had resigned from the position in June last year.
"The complainant does not know me, nor do I know him," said Justice Nair, who also served as the acting Chief Justice of Kerala.
He further alleged that the police registered the case against him without conducting a preliminary inquiry.
The Perinthalmanna police also booked IUML MLA Najeeb Kanthapuram based on a complaint by a woman who alleged that she was cheated out of Rs 21,000 after being promised a laptop at half price.
On Sunday, the police took Anandu Krishnan to various locations in Kochi to gather evidence.
He was brought to his flat at Marine Drive, his former residence in Palarivattom, and his offices in Vyttila, police said.
Krishnan, a resident of Thodupuzha in Idukki district, was arrested for allegedly defrauding people of several crores by promising scooters, sewing machines, home appliances, and laptops at half price.
The police are conducting a comprehensive investigation into the scam, which has led to complaints from across the state.
The 26-year-old Krishnan was remanded to five days of police custody on Thursday for further investigation into the case.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
