Thiruvananthapuram
The Kerala Crime Branch on Thursday sought the help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to find out details of so-called “antiques” seized from the house of the alleged master conman Manson Mavunkal (52) even as a luxury car registered in the name of Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor was found in his possession.
“We have approached the ASI to find details of artefacts seized from his (Mavunkal’s) house. We registered three fresh cases in Kochi and we will also check his degrees and other details,” said additional director general of police S Sreejith, crime branch head. Forest officials who seized ivory products from Mavunkal’s house later confirmed that they were fake.
Mavunkal was arrested by the crime branch last Sunday and at least 14 cases have been registered against him under various police stations in Kerala. Close to several senior police officers and politicians, he allegedly cheated many showing his contact with powerful people, collection of his “antiques” and his upcoming international art museum.
Lying idle in Cherthala police station (Alapuzha) for almost a year, Porschse Boxster was registered in Kareena’s name and registration certificate mentions Randhir Kapoor as her father and their Bandra (Mumbai) address was given. A motor vehicles department official said 2007 model vehicle was seized by the police last year in connection with a cheating case filed by a business group and that he might have got it from a used car dealer. The actor was not available for her comments.
Out of his 30-odd cars found in his house, most of them are high-end luxury vehicles that he reportedly brought from used car dealers. His former driver A Ajith said besides antiques he collected luxury cars from various parts of the country and displayed before his house to attract influential people. Even disposed and faulty luxury cars were carted to his house.
{{/usCountry}}Out of his 30-odd cars found in his house, most of them are high-end luxury vehicles that he reportedly brought from used car dealers. His former driver A Ajith said besides antiques he collected luxury cars from various parts of the country and displayed before his house to attract influential people. Even disposed and faulty luxury cars were carted to his house.
{{/usCountry}}“With the fleet of cars he attracted many in the cinema industry also. He allegedly cheated a Karnataka-based luxury car dealer Thyagarajan after buying 8 used high-end cars. When Thyagarajan approached him for payment, he was intimidated using his police connections,” said Ajith. At times he also used to show off saying it was gifted by cine actors, he said. There are unconfirmed reports that many conned cinema personalities are unwilling to come up fearing bad publicity.
Meanwhile former DGP Loknath Behra, who was appointed as the managing director of Kochi Metro after his retirement four months ago, has proceeded on leave. But people close to him said he took leave due to some personal reasons.
During his tenure as police chief, a beat box was installed outside his house after Mavunkal complained that “he possessed priceless antiques”. Behra’s photo sitting on the throne of Mavunkal was also surfaced in social media inviting embarrassment to the police. Though there were many complaints against him, Mavunkal got away easily using his influence with the police and politicians. Confidential documents with the Hindustan Times suggest inquiries were ordered in 2019 and 2020 but they failed to pick up speed till his arrest on last Sunday.