Eatery owner booked for cheating

Trichy: A hotel owner was booked in Trichy on Saturday for allegedly cheating a man of Rs 25 lakh on the pretext of transferring ownership of his eatery to him.According to police, the accused, S Srinivasan, has been running an eatery near Central bus stand in Trichy. In June 2024, he entered into an agreement with K Balraj, 53, from Chinthamani, for transferring ownership of the eatery and received Rs 25 lakh in several installments from him. However, after receiving the amount, Srinivasan neither completed the transfer of ownership nor returned the money. When Balraj repeatedly approached him, Srinivasan failed to respond properly and even threatened him, police said.Based on a complaint lodged by Balraj, the Cantonment crime police registered a case against Srinivasan under sections 296(b), 351(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for abuse, criminal intimidation and cheating. Further investigation is on.