The Ernakulam Central Police have busted a seven-member land mafia accused of hatching a conspiracy to usurp property and extort money from a businesswoman in the city and constantly threatening to eliminate her and family, all the while posing as close aides of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Kamaludeen, 43, of Ponekkara; Joshy, 48, of Valappad in Thrissur district; Siddique alias Karukapilly Siddique, 35, from Deshabhimani Road; Vincent alias Vichandy alias Cichan, 39, of Elamakkara; Ajayakumar, 44, of Kaloor; Niyas Aziz, 25, of Thalayolapparambu; and Faizal K.K., 42, of Thammanam, were arrested by the police on Tuesday night on a petition filed by the woman from Pachalam.
All the accused had criminal antecedents and the police are convinced of their role in many land deals in and around the city.
According to the police, the first accused Kamaludeen agreed to sell his house and five cents to the petitioner for Rs.1 crore and took an advance of Rs. 50 lakh. The property was registered in her name on the agreement that the rest of the price would be paid in instalments.
However, three days later, Kamaludeen and his accomplices trespassed into the woman’s house and her business establishment at Broadway, demanding a higher price. They threatened to eliminate her and family if she failed to pay up Rs. 1.25 crore immediately. The petitioner was forced to transfer her 4,000-sq.ft home at Thrikkakara and eight cents in the name of Kamaludeen.
She was also forced to pledge her premium Jaguar car to the second accused Joshy for Rs. 30 lakh, which was appropriated by Kamaludeen as interest for the money she allegedly owed him. Then Joshy and his brother started threatening the petitioner demanding “interest” for the loan she had purportedly taken by pledging her car. They trespassed into her house and took away her husband’s costly watch and forced her to pay Rs. 6 lakh as “interest” on different occasions through threats.
The accused always used their purported proximity to the Chief Minister while threatening the petitioner and her family into conceding their various demands. The third accused Siddique used claims of his involvement in multiple murders as a ploy to issue threats.
The accused were arrested after the hapless petitioner filed a complaint with the Director General of Police who passed it on to City Deputy Commissioner of Police Arul R.B. Krishna, who in turn ordered the Central Police to register a case.
DYFI Ernakulam district secretary K.S. Arunkumar said that Siddique’s membership in the youth wing had been suspended following his arrest on Wednesday
The arrest was made by a police team led by Circle Inspector A. Ananthalal, sub inspectors Vijaya Sankar, Gopakumar, and Bibin.
