Fraud at jewellery outlet: two surrendered accused taken for evidence collection

Crime Branch officials on Tuesday took the two women arrested for allegedly defrauding Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader G. Krishnakumar’s daughter Diya Krishna to the jewellery outlet, where they purportedly embezzled large sums of money, as part of evidence collection.

The two suspects, Vineetha and Radhakumari, who surrendered a few days ago, allegedly misappropriated funds using their personal QR codes instead of the outlet’s official one. A third accused, Divya, remains absconding.

Up to ₹2 lakh

Official sources said that up to ₹2 lakh was transferred to the personal bank accounts of the accused through their QR codes on certain days. It is suspected that the siphoned-off money was split among the three accused, and was used to purchase gold and a scooter. The Crime Branch has seized the scooter, and is in the process of recovering the pledged gold.

The former employees had claimed that the QR code was switched under Ms. Krishna’s instruction to evade tax. The investigators found that nearly ₹40 lakh was transferred to the accused’s accounts, while the complainant claimed the women had siphoned off nearly ₹69 lakh.

The Kerala High Court had rejected the anticipatory bail applications of the accused, prompting two of the accused to surrender before the Crime Branch.