Man held for financial fraud

Kochi: Kalady police arrested a 35-year-old man for deceiving a female friend by taking gold and money from her and not returning it.The arrested person, Shalu of Kothamangalam, allegedly took 60 sovereigns of gold ornaments and around Rs 1.2 crore from the woman under false pretences. He told the woman various reasons, including that his house was under mortgage, his father was unwell, required surgery, and that he wanted to start a plywood business, promising to return the money. The gold was pawned and later sold at establishments in Kothamangalam and Perumbavoor. He reportedly claimed to the police that this money was invested in betting apps. The investigation team included Kalady SHO Arthi, Inspector Jayapradeep and SIs Najeeb, Ajmal, ASI Jinson and CP Dhanesh. Man held under Kaapa: A man who used to burgle houses to steal gold ornaments was detained under Kaapa and jailed. The accused is Biju, known as Acid Biju, 51, from Nellimattam, Kuttamangalam. He is involved in cases within the jurisdictions of police stations in Perumbavoor, Kuruppampadi, Ponnani, Shoranur, Kothamangalam, Kunnathunad, Palakkad Chalissery and Perinthalmanna. According to police, his method involved night-time housebreaking to steal women's and children's gold ornaments. In March 2022, he was sentenced to three years by the Perinthalmanna judicial first class magistrate court for a similar crime. After serving his sentence, he broke into a house in Vattayattupadi, Perumbavoor, in Feb and stole a one-and-a-half sovereign gold chain from an elderly woman while she was asleep, leading to his arrest by Perumbavoor police.