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Kerala man promises scooters at half price, dupes people of over ₹20 crore
Ananthu Krishnan promised people to providing scooters, home appliances, etc., at half price with the help of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested in Kerala's Kochi for his alleged role in duping people across the state of several crores on the pretext of selling them scooters, home appliances, and other electronics at half price.
The accused, Ananthu Krishnan, has been promising to provide two-wheelers, sewing machines, etc., at half price with the help of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of big companies since 2022, a senior police officer in Muvattupuzha was cited as saying by news agency PTI.
Krishnan already has several cases of cheating and criminal breach of trust against him in the Muvattupuzha and Idukki districts. The recent duping case is a fresh one, registered against him and six others, including Congress leader Lali Vincent in Kannur for the same offences.
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‘Like a son’ to Congress' Lali Vincent
The case was lodged on the basis of over 400 complaints received by police in connection with the transactions made by NGO Sardar Patel Institute of Advanced Research and Developmental Studies (SPIARDS) where Vincent is named as a legal advisor.
The Congress leader defended Krishnan while speaking to reporters in Kochi and said that he was not someone who would commit such a fraud. "He is like a son to me," she added.
Vincent claimed that Krishnan was made the scapegoat in this case after those who promised to bring him CSR funds backed away. "In desperation, he did some things," she said. Krishnan had provided two-wheelers, sewing machines and other appliances to several families.
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Vincent said that she acted as a legal advisor and lawyer for SPIARDS and Krishnan and had even drafted several agreements for them for which, she said she was paid legal fees.
The complaint filed with the police, however, said that no promised scooters were provided, the PTI report mentioned.
Meanwhile, hundreds of members of the Seed Society, mostly women, approached the Kannur police station and accused their secretary of cheating them, demanding an action against him.
They told a TV channel that they deposited money as some of the people they know had gotten laptops, sewing machines, water tanks, water purifiers, food kits, etc., at half the price.
Krishnan's modus operandi
A senior police official explained Ananthu Krishnan's modus operandi, saying that the accused had formed a society by the name of 'Muvattupuzha Socio-Economic Development Society' and urged its members to deposit money in a consultancy that he set up on the pretext that he could provide them with half-priced two-wheelers.
The accused had also reportedly created several consultancies in his own name and made transactions using them.
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He had convinced the people that he was the national coordinator of the National NGO Federation, telling them that he was given the responsibility of managing the CSR funds of various companies in India, the police officials said.
"Investigation revealed that around ₹9 crore was defrauded from Muvattupuzha in this way," the officer said, adding that Krishnan had also set up such societies in every block of the state and collected money through 62 "seed societies".
According to the cases registered against Krishnan in Muvattupuzha and Idukki, the accused had defrauded people of more than ₹20 crore.
The amount of the swindled money is expected to increase, the police officer said.
The role of certain political leaders was also being investigated in connection with this fraud, they added.
Notably, several of the companies were not aware that Krishnan was defrauding people on the promise of CSR funds for them. During interrogation, the accused reportedly admitted that he had not received any CSR funds from any company so far.
(with PTI inputs)
