Kasaragod: In a twist to the Rs 140-crore Fashion Gold deposit scam, Kasaragod Police charged renowned advocate C Shukkur -- who dug up the alleged fraud -- with conspiracy and forgery.
The FIR, which lists nine criminal charges against advocate Shukkur and three others, was registered on the direction of a magistrate court and based on a complaint filed by the 11th accused S K Muhammed Kunhi (78).
IUML leader and former Manjeshwar MLA M C Kamaruddin and IUML leader and Islamic leader T K Pookoya Thangal are the first two accused in the alleged deposit scam being investigated by Kannur Crime Branch. Pookkoya Thangal's son A P Hisham is the third accused in the Fashion Gold deposit scam.
Muhammed Kunhi said he too was a victim of the deposit scam but the Crime Branch made him an accused in the case because he was listed as a director of Qamar Fashion Gold Private Limited, one of the four companies of Kamaruddin and Pookoya Thangal. "Pookoya Thangal and his son Hisham made him a director of Qamar Fashion Gold without my knowledge or consent by forging my signature," he said.
"The forged documents were notarised by advocate Shukkur. That is why I named him as the third accused in the case," said Muhammed Kunhi, a native of Kalnad. The first two accused in Kunhi's forgery case are Pookoya Thangal and his son Hisham; and the fourth accused is Sandeep Satheesh, company secretary of Qamar Fashion Gold.
Qamar was one of the four jewellery companies of Kamaruddin and Pookoya Thangal in which they took deposits from the public promising exorbitant and life-long returns of 12% to 14%. Investigating officers said they were taking money from new depositors to pay returns to old depositors.
They started defaulting on paying returns after demonetisation in November 2016. Their stores in Kasaragod, Cheruvathur, Payyannur, and Thalassery started folding up in late 2019. By April 2020, all the stores were shut.
Most of the depositors did not go public with their grievances because Pookoya Thangal was a religious leader. It was on Shukkur's insistence and legal support they filed their first police complaints in September 2020.
'They forged my signature thrice'
Muhammed Kunhi alleged Pookoya Thangal, Adv Shukkur, and company secretary Sandeep Satheesh conspired to forge his signature thrice. "Twice to make me a director of Qamar Fashion Gold, and once to submit my resignation from the post," said Kunhi, who was a senior executive with a paper products company in the UAE for 42 years.
He said they forged an affidavit in his name on August 3, 2013. The affidavit was notarised on the same date by Adv Shukkur. The document was uploaded to the portal of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on August 13, 2013. "But I was not in India during those days," he said. According to his passport, he was in India for 10 days from January 7 to 17, 2013; and another 10 days from August 22 to September 1, 2013.
His advocate K M Gireesh said a notary should ensure the signatory is present in person before him, verify their identity, and check the authenticity of the document before attesting it. After that the notary should enter the details of the signatory in their register which can be called as a piece of evidence, he said.
Four years later, on October 15, 2017, he was removed from the director's post by submitting a resignation letter with his signature to the Registrar of Companies. Then, too, Muhammed Kunhi was not in India.
"The first two signatures looked as if an attempt was made to copy my signature. But it is nowhere close to the original. The third
signature has no resemblance to my signature," he said.
Except for one investor meeting, Kunhi said he did not attend any meetings of the directors.
'My family lost Rs 50 lakh in the deposit scam'
During a vacation in July 2012, Muhammed Kunhi said he was approached by Pookoya Thangal and his son Hisham to invest in their gold jewellery business. "I did not know them but they kept pressing me to invest in their business promising attractive returns," he said.
On August 1, he gave them Rs 50 lakh and in return, they gave him a certificate for 5,000 shares.
Later, his two brothers deposited Rs 80 lakh and his three daughters deposited Rs 20 lakh with Qamar Fashion Gold. They also deposited gold jewellery worth Rs 5.72 lakh with the jewellery shop.
When the company started defaulting, the family gave a three months notice to withdraw the money, as required by the agreement. "But we got back only Rs 1 crore. Our gold and Rs 50 lakh are still with the company," he said.
But even after the crisis hit the ceiling and around 160 depositors filed a cheating case against Kamaruddin and Pookoya Thangal, Kunhi did not file a complaint. "Thangal told us that those who file complaints will not get their money back soon because of legal issues. So we waited," he said.
Then the Enforcement Directorate called him to its office in Kozhikode for questioning. The officers said he was once a director of Qamar Gold. "I denied it. They dropped it. But that's the first time I heard about me being the director," he said.
Three weeks ago, he said, a DySP contacted him asking him to get an anticipatory bail because the Crime Branch had named him as the 11th accused in the Fashion Gold deposit scam. "I was dumbstruck. That's when I approached my brother who was a senior lawyer. He dug up the documents from the Corporate Affairs Ministry's portal," he said.
On July 11, he filed a complaint of forgery with Melparamba Police Station. When they did not register an FIR, he filed the same complaint with the district police chief on July 13. When he did not get any response, he approached the Hosdurg First Class Judicial Magistrate (II) Court on Friday, July 21. "The court directed Melparamba police to register the FIR the same day," he said.
Late Friday night, Melparamba police charged Pookoya Thangal, his son Hisham, advocate Shukkur, and company secretary Sandeep Satheesh with sections 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 477 A (Falsification of accounts), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of public register), 468 (forgery for cheating), 469 (forgery for harming reputation), and 474 (possessing forged documents with the intention to use it as genuine) of the IPC.
Will move the court to quash FIR against me: Shukkur
Shukkur, a former public prosecutor, said as a notary he had never attested a document without the applicant being present. "This incident happened 10 years ago. I do not remember it. Someone could have impersonated Muhammed Kunhi. I don't know," he said.
Shukkur, who acted as a lawyer in the crime comedy 'Nna Thaan Case Kodu', said he had no benefit in making Kunhi a director of a gold jewellery company. "I took the initiative to bring out the scam. At best, the petitioner could have made me a witness. I will move the court to quash the FIR against me," he said.
Shukkur, a former IUML leader who joined the CPM, said the petitioner not naming IUML leader Kamaruddin as an accused in his complaint made the entire exercise look politically motivated. "Kamaruddin was the chairman of the company and Pookoya Thangal was its managing director. How can Muhammed Kunhi become a director of Kamaruddin's company without his knowledge?" Adv Shukkur said.
Muhammed Kunhi said he did not name Kamaruddin in his complaint because he never approached him or his family asking for deposits.
