The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Coimbatore City Police have arrested a couple, who ran a travel agency, and allegedly duped more than 600 people of around ₹ 6 crore by promising to arrange tour packages in India and abroad.
Sureshkumar (49) and his wife Maheswari (43), who ran Dhanavarsa Tour Travels on Chinnasamy Naidu road near new Siddhapudur, were arrested for offences under Sections120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.
After several complaints of cheating by the couple, Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan had instructed CCB to form a special team and arrested them.
CCB officials said that the accused collected over ₹ 6 crore from more than 600 people by assuring to arrange tour packages to Andaman, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, pilgrim centres and tourist destinations in India.
After several people filed complaints against the couple, they had allegedly locked the office and went at large, said the police.
They were produced before the seventh judicial magistrate and remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.
Convict under treatment dies
Abdul Hameed aka Bilal Hajiyar (87), a convict in the murder of Hindu Munnani functionary in 1991, died under treatment at a private hospital here on Wednesday. A resident of Ayyanna Gounder Street near Variety Hall Road and former national functionary of Social Democratic Party of India, Hajiyar was serving life term for the murder of Hindu Munnani worker Shivakumar alias Veerashiva.
He was lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison after the Supreme Court upheld a verdict sentencing him to undergo life term in October 2018.
House burgled
Unidentified persons broke open a house near Rathinapuri and took away 30 sovereigns of jewellery on Tuesday.
The police said that the burglary was reported at the house of M. Balakrishnan, a resident of Sakthi Mariamman Kovil street near Rathinapuri. The police said that the burglary took place after the couple had left the house for workplaces on Tuesday. They found the front door of the house opened when returned home in the evening.