London educated engineer held in house-for-rent fraud

The accused, Pushparaj of Cuddalore, was secured from a lodge in Vadapalani on Friday. Investigation revealed that he studied engineering in London but lost his job during the lockdown. He then tried his hands online gambling but lost all his savings. That is when he turned to cheat.

He was arrested based on a complaint by one Karthik of Tirumangalam, a dentist. Karthik saw Pushparaj’s ad for a house for rent on a website and approached him a week ago. Pushparaj collected Rs 67,000 from Karthik, but then allegedly delayed showing him the house. That made Karthik suspicious.

Based on his complaint, Tirumangalam police traced and arrested the suspect. Two mobile phones were seized from him. Though he was let off on bail, Korattur police have decided to take him into custody after receiving complaints that he allegedly cheated one Arup Ratan Halder to the tune of Rs 8.5 lakh in a similar manner.