Babu M. George from Mudavoor near Muvattupuzha says it was sheer chance that led him into a trap set by Jobby George and his wife Sunimol, whom he has accused of tricking him into paying Rs.15 lakh for his son’s admission to Newcastle Medical School in 2010.
It was a combination of circumstances and unfortunate turn of events that led him to trust the UK-based couple, Mr. George told The Hindu over phone, recalling the developments two years ago during which his son failed to secure admission to the Kolencherry Medical College due to factors beyond his control.
He said he was anxious about his son’s losing a year of studies when Jobby George stepped into the scene. Mr. Jobby was an acquaintance of his through his nephew who was doing his MBA in England at that time. The scamster came across as an honest do-gooder, claiming close relationship with those who controlled admissions to the medical school.
Mr. George alleged that Mr. Jobby took Rs.10 lakh towards fees at the medical school and Rs.5 lakh towards meeting other expenses that included payments to those who processed the application. Mr. George said he received mails from one Tony George from England, who claimed to be a key contact in the establishment that processed applications for admission to the medical college.
Later, said Mr. George, he realised that Tony George and Jobby George were the same person, sending mails to keep his confidence.
He said he started to really worry about the authenticity of the promises made by Jobby George when he started hearing rumours about the dealings of the scamster with persons from Kerala residing in England. His investigations showed that Jobby George hailed from a family at Kallara, near Kottayam, which lived till then under limited resources. Jobby’s father was a registered head-load worker.
Turning down the anticipatory bail petition moved by Jobby George, the High Court of Kerala had asked him to surrender before the investigating officer before November 27. During the preliminary investigations the police found that the bank accounts operated by Jobby George, his wife and Jobby’s parents, had recorded transactions to the tune of about Rs. 13.5 crore.
The High Court had also observed that inquiry through financial agencies should also be made into these transactions.
However, with Jobby George and his wife failing to turn up, the police are not left with too many options. It is learnt that the investigators are considering approaching the Interpol to track the accused, who holds a UK passport now.
Sources in the police said that even though many other complaints came up after they registered case on the basis of complaint lodged by Mr. George, mostly from Kottayam, Angamali and Kaduthuruthy, they did not entertain these complaints due to issues of territorial jurisdiction. Those associated to the accused is learnt to have settled some of the cases by paying compensations ranging from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakh, they said.
One of the complaints that came up against Jobby George was that he convinced a person of getting him the distribution rights in UK for the Malayalam film ‘Ustad Hotel’ and then failed to do so. There were also stories doing rounds that Jobby George manipulated his acquaintance with the leading actor Mammotty to give an air of authenticity to his dealings. Police sources also said that he employed an online daily published from the United Kingdom to spread stories of his proximity with the actor.
George Thadathil and Alice George, Jobby’s parents have also been accused in the case and they took anticipatory bail. Police sources said that while the NRI account operated by Jobby George had annual transactions of less than Rs. One crore before the scam happened, as much as Rs. 13.5 crore was transacted between August 8, 2010 and June 26, 2012 (when the police registered the case) and money was withdrawn in UK and here.
There were reports that the accused collected money from many nursing candidates. However, most of the cases were settled by paying off.
