The Kadavanthra police on Tuesday arrested two more persons, including a woman, in connection with a case of duping a public sector bank of several lakhs of rupees using fake documents.
The accused were identified as Jyothi Nirmal, 28 of Kannur, and Sai Kiran, 29, of Thiruvananthapuram. The police had earlier arrested Renjith, the key accused, from Chennai. The woman, who was working as a video editor in a private TV channel, had forged a fake identity card in the name of one Jameela Muhammad with the help of Sai Kiran.
Sai Kiran and Jyothi had been working together as video editors earlier in a private channel in Thiruvananthapuram. The woman got acquainted with Renjith after she shifted to Kochi and was living in an apartment along with him at Judges Avenue Road.
Hideout traced
When the police launched a probe into the fraud case, the duo went into hiding. The police traced Renjith to a hideout in Chennai tracing his mobile phone calls. The role of the woman came to light when the police came across a similar attempt at another bank in the city.
“The duo, while in hiding, also attempted to obtain an anticipatory bail but failed,’’ the officials added. Soon Renjith was arrested from Chennai and Jyothi surrendered before the police late on Monday.
The arrest followed a complaint filed by the branch manager of a public sector bank at Kathrikkadavu. The fraud was carried out using a couple of blank cheques issued in the name of an NRI businessman in Kochi.
The accused, using a fake identity card, opened a bank account with the bank and withdrew money by submitting the cheques. The fraud came to light when the businessman conveyed to the bank that he had not withdrawn the money.
The accused were produced in a local court and remanded to custody.
Meanwhile, investigations revealed that Renjith was wanted by the Mumbai police in a job fraud case, in which he allegedly cheated 11 persons and swindled Rs.36 lakh from them.
