A trickster cheated three persons from Tiruppur of Rs. 61.5 lakh after promising them 85 trucks which he claimed were seized by the Legal Commissioner, U. Sagayam, in connection with granite scam in the district.
One of them, S. Jyothi Basu, had lodged a complaint with the High Court-appointed committee headed by senior IAS officer, Sagayam, to probe into the multi-crore granite scam.
Basu said that Philip Raja, who claimed to have a granite quarry in Idayapatti near Melur in Madurai district, said that the Legal Commissioner had impounded 88 lorries. “If the fine amount was paid, the lorries could be retrieved,” he said and took Rs. 61.50 lakh from him and his two friends on the promise of giving them the trucks.
He had also sent some fake government orders with the Tamil Nadu Government seal through e-mail.
The complainant said that the accused had claimed that he had close acquaintance with Mr. Sagayam. He had also showed a photograph to substantiate his claim. Claiming that he used to frequently talk to Mr. Sagayam over phone, the man had played some “recorded telephonic conversation” which he claimed to be with that of Mr. Sagayam.
Sources said that the accused had taken the trio, including A. Marimuthu and V.S. Anandan, to the Collectorate here, but made them wait outside the office of the Assistant Director, Mines. After a few minutes, he came out and claimed that all necessary arrangement had been made for release of the vehicles.
