‘Encounter specialist’ cheats 24 women, arrested in city

To the women he cheated and sexually exploited, he allegedly boasted that he was an encounter specialist, having shot dead two criminals when he was a sub-inspector before opting for voluntarily retirement. The police indicated that he could have cheated at least 24 women by posing as a sub-inspector of police.

The accused was identified as R Rajesh Prithvi of Tirupur district, who has at least six cases of polygamy pending at Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Tirupati and Kalahasti in Andhra Pradesh. “He has once been arrested in Tirupati. After coming out on bail, he shifted to different places,” said police.

He also allegedly swindled Rs 30 lakh from people on the promise of getting medical seats for their children and relatives. He finally landed in police net in Chennai after he kidnapped a woman hailing from Egmore and married her.

The woman’s parents lodged a complaint on June 30 that their daughter, who joined a company named Kavins Management Company run by the suspect on Nelson Manickam Road in Aminjikarai, recently went missing. As investigation revealed the company owner Rajesh kidnapped her, the case was altered. After her parents filed a habeas corpus petition at the Madras High Court, the police traced her to Nochipalayam in Tirupur on September 9 and rescued her. Investigation revealed that Rajesh had married her.

Even as the police were looking for Rajesh, he came to the girl’s house and threatened her to come with him. The police managed to secure him from there. Investigation revealed that Rajesh had fraudulently married many women and cheated them.

“He also used the money he received by running the fake firm to spend on women he married,” said the police. A sub-inspector’s uniform, fake identity card, a handcuff, PAN and Aadhaar cards were recovered from him. While the police remanded him on Sunday, they expect that more complaints would pour in the coming days.