Three held for cheating businessman of 40 lakh

Three men who allegedly cheated a businessman of ₹40 lakh by promising to pay ₹50 lakh within five hours were arrested by the Pondy Bazaar Police.

Police said Anandraj, a resident of Nungambakkam is a businessman. On December 9, while he was having tea at a tea shop on Rajabather Street in T. Nagar, three men approached him and claimed that they were from Thanjavur and were involved in a trading business. They told him that if he invested ₹40 lakh in their business, they would return ₹50 lakh within five hours.

They then took Anandraj to a room in a nearby hotel where they were staying and showed him a box allegedly containing ₹50 lakh in cash. Believing their assurance, Anandraj pledged his gold jewellery and transferred ₹40 lakh to the bank account specified by the three men through RTGS. However, they allegedly failed to pay him the promised ₹50 lakh and kept him in the hotel room for three days, deceiving him.

When Anandraj demanded the return of his ₹40 lakh, the accused allegedly assaulted him with an iron rod and threatened to kill him. Based on the complaint lodged by Anandraj, the police arrested the accused who were staying in the hotel room. They were identified as Lourdu Ensonraj, 38, of Thanjavur, and his nephews, Maria Servin Jebri, 28, and Sheldon Berminice, 25. Five mobile phones, one iron rod and bank-related documents were seized from them.

The investigation revealed that the ₹40 lakh transferred by the complainant had been sent online by the accused to another person.