Policeman’s wife among three held for fraud

CHENNAI: Three people, including the wife of a policeman, were arrested in Tiruvallur district on charges of fraud for allegedly swindling about Rs 1.25 crore on the pretext of online trading and chit funds.

The arrested trio was identified as Kumaraprabhu and his wife Mahalakshmi, both acupuncture practitioners, and Sharmila, the wife of a policeman residing in Avadi police quarters. The couple hailed from Madurai, and would come to Kundrathur once a week where they ran an acupuncture clinic. Sharmila was employed at the clinic.

On the pretext of running a Deepavali chit fund, they lured several persons in Tiruvallur and cheated more than Rs 1.25 crore over a period of time. As those who deposited money in their schemes did not get the desired returns, they alleged that they were cheated and filed a police complaint. Following this, the Tiruvallur district police formed special teams to arrest them.

On Wednesday, Kumaraprabhu and Mahalakshmi were arrested in Madurai while Sharmila was held in Chennai, police said. All three of them were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.