Financier posing as vigilance officer arrested in Chennai

CHENNAI: A 53-year-old financier whose money lending business spiralled down during the pandemic came up with an elaborate plan to pose as a cop from the Vigilance department and extort money from government staff.

He was close to striking big twice the last week, but managed to escape. On Wednesday, Taramani Police arrested the conman, V Chinnayan of Madambakkam near Tambaram, before he could carry out his modus operandi with another government official.

Investigations revealed that the accused had tried his luck initially by posing as a policeman in civil clothes and collected bribes locally, but after reading about incidents of imposters, he too imitated them.

Last week alone, Chinnayan attempted to extort money from two government officials. He went to the office of an engineer with Water Resources Department in Taramani on Saturday and claimed to be an Inspector with DVAC. When the official told him that he is clean, the conman insisted on searching his premises and then took the official to his home in Saidapet in the official’s car itself.

Suspicious over his activities, the government official enquired with the police after which the conman abandoned him midway.

On Friday, he had conducted searches at the residence of another official with CMDA. Police said that he had called the assistant of an engineer with CMDA and claimed to be an Inspector with DVAC.

When the engineer allowed the conman to search his office, he told him that a team is waiting at his residence and asked him to take him to his office. However, there was no one there and despite this, the conman conducted searches alone and got himself dropped at Koyambedu in the engineer’s car.

A team headed by Taramani Police Inspector Palani arrested the accused on Wednesday based on images of Chinnayan they obtained from CCTV footage. Police sources said that he had asked the government officials Rs 3 lakh to not pursue complaints against them. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.