The District Crime Branch police, late on Wednesday, arrested the nephew of former Social Welfare Minister V. Saroja for allegedly duping 17 job aspirants to the tune of ₹35 lakh after promising to get them jobs as noon meal organisers and anganwadi assistants.
The accused, identified as M. Ramesh Babu, 45 of Ashok Nagar in Chennai was arrested by a special police team and remanded in judicial custody.
According to the DCB police, the complainant V. Gunasekaran, 47 of Vikravandi in the district got to know the accused through a mutual acquaintance in February 2018. Ramesh Babu identified himself as the nephew of the former AIADMK Minister and promised to help the victim secure employment . Over the next fortnight, Ramesh Babu allegedly took ₹35 lakh from the victim and his friends in multiple instalments.
Police said the victims transferred the amount both into the bank accounts of the accused’s wives and his uncle in Villupuram. But there was no word from him after that. The complainant contacted Ramesh Babu and told him to return the money. The accused allegedly threatened the victim with dire consequences following which they approached the police.
On the directions from Superintendent of Police N. Shreenatha, a special police team led by Sub-Inspector G. Senthil Kumar nabbed Ramesh Babu. He was produced before a local court and remanded in custody.
The DCB police have launched a search for a few others in the case.
