The District Crime Branch has charged four persons for involvement in a fraudulent land deal and cheating a person of Rs. 11 lakh.
According to the police, B. Shanthi (38), a teacher, and her husband U. Balamurugan (47) of Thiruvalluvar Street near G.N. Mills approached Amutha Meenakshi, who was in the real estate business, to purchase a land.
She arranged a deal and helped them purchase 4.5 cent on Mettupalayam Road near N.G.G.O. Colony at a cost of Rs. 11 lakh in 2008.
When Shanthi began to clear the land to begin the construction of a house in 2011, Thangavelu, a resident of Coimbatore, claimed that it was his land.
When his claim proved to be true upon verification, Shanthi approached Amutha who had initially promised to return her money.
However, she allegedly failed to do so despite repeated reminders. She, along with her father K. Mahadevan and brother Karthik Muruganandam had later threatened Shanthi.
Following this, Shanthi lodged a complaint with the police.
The District Crime Branch registered a case on Wednesday and invoked Sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
Karthik Muruganandam was arrested and remanded in custody on Thursday. Amutha Meenakshi has already been arrested in another cheating case and was lodged at Coimbatore Central Prison. A search is on for Mahadevan. Further investigations are on.
