Kasaragod: A master forger of demand drafts (DD) and his assistant were sentenced to nine years of rigorous imprisonment by a Kasaragod court on Thursday.
P C Premachandran (63), a native of Kodiyeri in Thalassery, and his assistant Subeesh (41) of Koyilandy used to lure people with newspaper ads for cheap loans. "They would then give them forged demand drafts and pocket the commission," said DySP Babu Peringeth, who as Crime Branch Inspector arrested the accused in 2006.
On Thursday, July 13, Kasaragod Additional Sessions Court I found Premachandran and Subeesh guilty of falsifying documents and forgery for cheating. Apart from the nine of rigorous imprisonment, the duo was slapped with a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh, said a statement from Kasaragod police. If the fine is not paid, they will have to serve another three years in prison, it said. Advocate E Lohithakshan was the public prosecutor.
Duped businesses, banks
DySP Peringeth, who now heads the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau in Kannur, said Premachandran was an assistant manager of a scheduled bank and was an ace forger of DDs. "He was fired from the bank over a fraudulent act," he said.
Since then, he decided to monetise his skill for forgery. He rented a room in Kozhikode and hired Subeesh as his assistant. "From there, he used to give ads in newspapers for cheap loans," he said.
Sometime in 2005-2006, a customer approached the Kasaragod District Cooperative Bank's Cheruvathur branch with a DD purportedly from Malappuram District Cooperative Bank, said Peringeth.
The customer told the bank manager in Cheruvathur that the DD was a loan extended to him by the Malappuram District Cooperative Bank, said Peringeth.
But the manager got suspicious and on scrutiny found the DD to be a fake one. He filed a complaint with the Chandera Police Station.
The case was transferred to the District Crime Branch. The then Crime Branch Detective - Inspector Peringeth headed the investigation.
Peringeth found that the bank customer who went to the bank with the forged DD was a victim of a loan scam. "He fell for Premachandran's ad selling cheap loans," said the officer.
During the investigation, the officer also found that Premachandran was wanted in cases registered in Vadakara, Thamarassery and Kozhikode police stations. "Premachandran used to buy mobile phones and computers with the forged DD. But he took care never to go to banks or shops with the forged DD," he said.
