The alleged cheating and forgery running into ₹55 crore in the Urban Cooperative Society, Angamaly, by sanctioning loans for which the Angamaly police registered a case on Tuesday is likely to be a long drawn out probe involving verification of voluminous documents dating back to 2002.
As per the first information report (FIR) registered by the Angamaly police, the alleged forgery and resultant cheating happened from July 7, 2002 until now. Loans were sanctioned on forged applications as well as applications submitted without requisite documents even in the name of non-members, the FIR said.
“We have launched an investigation, but unlike action in other crimes, this may take a lot more time since it involves verification of a lot of documents,” said Angamaly police sources.
The police had registered cases against 14 governing committee members and six employees, both past and present, of the Society governed by the Congress. The case was registered on a petition lodged by Jossal Francis Thoppil, Joint Registrar General, Cooperative department. Among the accused, two, including the former president, had died.
The accused were booked under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant), 417 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable, security, will etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
Besides, Sections 13 (1)(a) (a public servant committing the offence of criminal misconduct by habitually accepting or obtaining or agreeing to accept or attempts to obtain from any person for himself or for any other person any gratification other than legal remuneration as a motive or reward) and 13 (2) (Any public servant who commits criminal misconduct shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall be not less than one year but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine) of the Prevention of Corruption Act have been invoked.
The matter came to light after many members started getting notices from the Society asking to repay loans taken in their names but about which they had no clue. In one instance, seven members of a family received notices asking to repay ₹25 lakh each towards loans they had never taken.
