The Mukkom police on Thursday arrested a 36-year-old woman as part of the ongoing investigation into a major railway job scam that duped over 500 applicants from north Kerala districts. Aswathy Warrier of Edappal was nabbed from Coimbatore after a week-long intensified investigation into the incident.
The woman, reportedly the prime accused in the case, was charged under Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code. With this, the total number of persons arrested in the case reached four.
The investigation team had already arrested three others who allegedly colluded with Aswathy to operate the fraud in the name of the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB). The main allegation against the four was that they pocketed a huge sum from job aspirants promising permanent postings to them.
The three suspects — M.K. Shiju, M.K. Sijin, and M. Babu — who were nabbed by Inspector K. Prajeesh on Wednesday, had revealed the bigger role played by the prime suspect in the alleged fraud. It was District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) A. Sreenivas who ordered a comprehensive investigation into the incident on a petition by an applicant from Mukkom village.
According to the petitioner, the alleged job scheme was operated using a fake email address and instant messaging groups created in the name of the railways.
The complainants had revealed to the police that the fraudsters had assumed themselves as RRB members to communicate with aspirants and slowly win their trust. Besides, the name and designation of the Chairman of Southern Railways were misused to endorse fake communications.
There were also alleged efforts on the part of the suspects to misuse the photographs of senior BJP leaders to canvas aspirants and thus enrol more members promising attractive commissions. M.K. Shiju, who was a BJP worker, had even been suspended by the party in connection with the incident.
According to the police, Shiju and Sijin, who are siblings and natives of Vallathayippara in Mukkom, had colluded with Edappal native Babu and Aswathy for expanding the sham recruitment drive in the name of railways to more districts. They had been accused of collecting ₹7.5 lakh from three individuals, including the complainant, by offering permanent jobs.
The Mukkom police said the three men arrested in connection with the case were found involved in other similar cases registered within the limits of Thiruvambady, Ponnani and Changaramkulam stations. Investigation is on into the multiple roles allegedly played by the woman in the scam, they said.
