3 youth held for conning Haryana-based firm

VELLORE: On Vellore SP S Rajesh Kannan’s orders, the district crime branch registered a case and arrested three persons from Gudiyattam for cheating a Haryana-based online firm of Rs 1.50 crore on Friday.

Police said that Seetharaman (26) of Gudiyattam approached Ravikanth Lakshmanan manager of a Haryana-based online firm dealing in vegetables and fruits and got an initial Rs 70 lakh to supply them with fruits and vegetables.

He next got another Rs 1.80 crore from the firm for business, but failed to return the money. When the firm started insisting, he returned Rs 70 lakh and had an outstanding amount of Rs 1.10 crore.

However, Seetharaman transferred the company’s money to the accounts of his friends Satish Kumar (26), Saravanan (26) and Vasantha Kumar (26) all of various areas in Gudiyattam town. Seetharaman also created bogus bills as if he had repaid the Rs 1.10 crore. Seetharaman then moved the money from his friends accounts to his wife Vijetha’s account and used the money to buy a car, van land and construct a house. He also indulged in a lavish lifestyle.

Seetharaman created bogus bills for Rs 32 lakh, which the Haryana company’s Tiruvannamalai agent Charanraj owed.

When the books were checked, the bogus bills and how Seetharaman had cheated the company was discovered, following which Ravikanth Lakshmanan complained to Vellore SP Rajesh Kannan.

Police arrested Seetharaman, Satish Kumar and Saravanan and are on the lookout for Charanraj and Vasantha Kumar. Seetharaman’s wife Vijetha was also an accused, but police refrained from arresting her as she was admitted to a hospital for delivery. She delivered a baby boy on Thursday following which police plan to arrest her in a day or two.

Police also said that Seetharaman, who lived a lavish life, was unable to meet Vijetha’s hospital expenses and hence he had to sell one of his newly acquired vehicles to meet this need.