The Vanchiyoor police arrested an advocate for allegedly defrauding his client off ₹6.5 lakh and failing to repay the amount despite being directed by a court.
The accused, Arun P. Nair, who practices at the Vanchiyoor Court, was arrested by the police on Saturday for siphoning off ₹6.5 lakh from a client, Shereeq Ahmed, a non-resident Indian (NRI) years ago.
The lawyer had been engaged by the complainant in 2016 for recovering gold ornaments that he had pledged in a bank. He initially paid Arun an amount of ₹2 lakh as his fee.
While both the District and the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions had ruled in favour of the bank, the accused offered to approach the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on the petitioner’s behalf. He later lied to the complainant that the commission had ordered a resolution to the dispute with a payment of ₹4.5 lakh.
While Shereeq transferred the amount to the lawyer in two installments, he realised his folly when the bank maintained it received no such instruction from the commission.
He, later, moved the Alappuzha court that ordered Arun to return ₹6.5 lakh to the complainant. It later directed him to pay ₹9 lakh on July 20 after Shereeq sought compensation too.
Arun, who has been granted bail, has been directed to provide the compensation before October 6, failing which he would have to face jail term for three months.
