Kannur: A 72-year-old woman was arrested by Taliparamba police on Tuesday on charges of fraud claiming to be the wife of a wealthy man and received his family pension since 2011. They later released the woman, Janaki K.V., on bail considering old age.
Taliparamba DySP Venugopalan heading the investigation said her sister Shylaja, a lawyer and suspected mastermind, and her husband Krishnakumar were absconding. He said the officials who helped facilitate this fraud, including land transactions, are also under the radar.
“The village officer has committed a serious lapse and omission while cross checking whether she was legally the wife of the late Balakrishnan, from Kammanappara. The police will also check if they had bribed the officer,” he told DC.
Janaki had availed of a family pension of Rs 20,000 per month from 2011 and received a bulk amount of Rs 66,000 from one bank. A property worth Rs 19.5 lakh was transferred to her along with six acres of land.
The issue was known outside when they felled trees from the property. The death of Mr Balakrishnan also would be probed, he said.
