Congress Leader’s Kin Held in Rs. 1.5 Cr Land Fraud in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: In a high-profile land fraud case, the Museum Police have arrested the fifth accused in connection with the illegal acquisition of a house and property worth approximately Rs. 1.5 crore in Jawahar Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrested individual has been identified as C.A. Mahesh, son of Chandrasekharan Nair, a resident of Ganapathi Bhadra House near Puthenkotta Shiva Temple, Attukal, under Manacaud village limits. Mahesh is the younger brother of Ananthapuri Manikandan, a licensed deed writer and a member of the District Congress Committee (DCC), who is also an accused in the case.

To register any property document legally in Kerala, licensed deed writers are issued a user ID and password by the Registration Department, which allows them to generate e-stamps and pay registration fees. In this case, it is alleged that Mahesh misused this access to fraudulently create financial agreements and property valuation documents.

These forged documents were then used to wrongfully transfer ownership of a house and land belonging to Dora Azaria Cripps, who resides in the United States. The property was fraudulently sold to a woman named Merin Jacob in January without Dora’s knowledge or consent. Shortly thereafter, Merin Jacob transferred the property to another individual named Chandrasenan.

To facilitate the illegal transaction, Merin Jacob was falsely portrayed as the adopted daughter of Dora Azaria Cripps. This forged familial relationship was used to manipulate and falsify the ownership documents during the property transfer process.

The arrest was carried out by a special team led by ACP Stuart Keeler. The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected as authorities delve deeper into the organized effort behind the fraudulent land transfer.