The Madras High Court was shocked to hear about a case of a person, who having occupied an office room on the second floor of the Secretariat at Fort St. George, posing as a Deputy Secretary to the government, issued appointment orders to many gullible people and cheated them of ₹4 crore.
Justice R. Mahadevan was taken aback when a writ petition filed by one of the victims, K. Pandian, came up before him.
The judge directed a government counsel to obtain instructions by Wednesday on the action taken so far on all those involved in the racket.
When it was brought to the notice of the judge that the accused K. Navappan of Kottaiyoor village in Tiruvannamalai district had obtained bail from a lower court in a criminal case, the judge called for the records of the bail order and said that appropriate action should be taken to get the bail cancelled.
In his affidavit, the petitioner said he was duped by Navappan, who claimed to be a Deputy Secretary to government in 2016. The accused had demanded ₹7 lakh each from the petitioner and nine of his friends for getting them jobs in government departments.
Fake orders
He had met all the 10 victims in a room in the Secretariat and asked them to hand over an advance of ₹2 lakh each at the Fort Railway Station. They handed over ₹20 lakh to him on November 13, 2016.
He reportedly issued fake appointment orders and collected the remaining amount.
In September last year, the petitioner learnt that Navappan was a cheat and that he had duped several persons of ₹4 crore. Wondering how the accused was allowed to use a room in the Secretariat with a name board hung outside, the petitioner sought a detailed inquiry apart from compensation of ₹2 crore from the State.
