A year-long hunt for the suspects involved in a major cheating case ended in part on Wednesday, with the arrest of a man and a woman in Madhavaram.
According to police, the case involved S. Loganathan, a shipping logistics businessman, who was duped by the suspects of Rs. 86 lakh. The suspects had told Loganathan that they would source iron scrap from the Karnataka Reddy brothers’ mine fields in Bellary for him, for it be exported at a profit. Once the businessman paid them, they disappeared with the money.
Police however said that the main suspect in the case is still absconding. Based on information provided by the arrested duo, a special team has now gone to Karnataka to look for him.
The arrested duo is J. Shanthi (42) and her brother, 34-year-old S. Karunakara Reddy. Shanthi is the wife of the prime suspect, K. Jeeva Reddy (48), who runs Ashtalakshmi Logistics, a private limited company in Parry’s Corner.
The three have been on the run since early 2012, after Loganathan registered a case against them at North Beach police station.
In early 2011, Loganathan, a resident of Adyar and owner of B.L. Shipping Corporation in Parry’s Corner, met the main suspect, Jeeva Reddy, through a mutual business acquaintance.
As both of them were in the same line of business and also belonged to the same community, they soon became friends and got to know each others’ families.
Being an exporter of iron scrap powder to various Southeast Asian countries, Loganathan was always on the lookout for large quantities of iron powder. Loganathan told Jeeva about his problem, who said the Reddy brothers in Karnataka were relatives of his.
“Jeeva got Loganthan to believe that he could source raw iron scrap powder from the mines run by the Reddy brothers. Based on that, Loganathan paid him Rs. 86 lakh to be able to get a contract for one of the mines,” said a police officer.
After a few weeks, when there was no sign of the deal going through, Loganthan asked Jeeva to return his money. But Jeeva refused to return the money and disappeared.
