New Delhi: A man who had been absconding for nearly 17 years in a property fraud case has been arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Chennai Police. The accused is alleged to have attempted to usurp a property by preparing forged documents, forging signatures and impersonating individuals. He had reportedly stopped appearing before the court in 2009, following which a non-bailable warrant was issued against him.
According to police, the accused has been identified as 55-year-old Shanmugasundaram. He was arrested on Thursday by a special team of the Fraud Investigation Wing (FIW) of the Central Crime Branch. The case was originally registered in 2008.
The case originated from a complaint filed by Anand Jayaram Moorthy, a resident of Arunachalapuram Main Road, Adyar. In his complaint, he alleged that Akila and her husband, Shanmugasundaram, attempted to usurp his property by preparing forged documents, impersonating individuals and forging signatures.
After completing the investigation, the Central Crime Branch filed a charge sheet before the Special Metropolitan Magistrate Court for CCB and CBCID cases at Egmore. While co-accused Akila continued to appear before the court, Shanmugasundaram allegedly stopped attending the proceedings from 2009 onwards.
Following his prolonged absence, the court issued a non-bailable warrant directing the police to secure his presence. A special team of the Fraud Investigation Wing subsequently traced the accused through sustained surveillance, intelligence gathering and technical inputs before taking him into custody.
After interrogation, the accused was produced before the Special Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Egmore. The court remanded him to judicial custody, and the long-pending non-bailable warrant was executed.
Police officials said special drives are being conducted to trace and arrest long-absconding accused persons. Such operations involve technical surveillance, intelligence-based tracking and analysis of available records to locate fugitives.
Further legal proceedings in the case are underway. With the arrest of the accused, the long-pending trial before the court is expected to proceed.
