Man arrested for cheating Coimbatore realtor

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore city crime police arrested a Kerala man on charges of cheating a realtor of Rs 3 crore by posing as the head of a charitable organisation and promising access to a fund purportedly sanctioned by the Reserve Bank of India.

According to police, Ramanathan (name changed), a 55-year-old real estate businessman at Peelamedu in Coimbatore, became acquainted with Sunil Das of Moolamattom in Kerala through business dealings.

Sunil claimed that he was running a charitable organisation called 'Snegam Foundation' in Kerala. He told Ramanathan that the foundation had been allotted Rs 3,170 crore by the Reserve Bank of India and that a fee of Rs 3 crore was required to access the fund. He produced a forged letter to support his claim.

Believing him, Ramanathan transferred Rs 1.57 crore to Sunil’s bank account and gave the remaining Rs 1.43 crore in cash. After a few months, Ramanathan realised that he had been cheated. Sunil avoided taking his calls, and Ramanathan filed a complaint with the Coimbatore city crime police.

The police registered a case and launched a manhunt for Sunil. He was arrested from a hotel in Madurai. On Tuesday, he was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.