The Vidhana Soudha police arrested six people, including a retired government official, for allegedly forging cheques and looting crores of rupees.
The arrested have been identified as retired government official G.S. Sripad, his son Anand Thirtha, Harish and rowdy sheeters Prashanth, Prathap and Venkatesh. The kingpin, Naveen, and his associate Rajesh Shetty are absconding, the police said.
According to the police, after retirement, Sripad, a resident of Tyagrajnagar, was taking cheques from people for clearance on commission basis. Anand, who works in a private firm, was helping him.
Harish contacted Anand and gave a cheque belonging to AKCT Chidambaram Cotton Mill Pvt Ltd. and asked him to draw money. Anand gave it to Sripad, who drew money from the Vidhana Soudha branch of a nationalised bank.
The cheque was for ₹57,750, but it was forged as ₹5,77,500. Bank manager Ashok Ramamurthy learnt that the cheque was forged and filed a complaint with the Vidhana Soudha police.
Prashanth, Prathap, Venkatesh and Naveen came in contact at Parappana Agrahara Central prison. They ganged up after coming out on bail and started forging cheques. Naveen is the kingpin of the team, police said.
The accused learnt that many companies and businessmen send cheques through courier. They contacted courier boys, diverted their attention and stole cheques from them. They would then forge cheque details and apply for clearance, the police added.
