Malappuram: Perinthalmanna police on Sunday registered a cheating case against retired Justice CN Ramachandran Nair for allegedly swindling Rs 34 lakh in connection with the notorious CSR fund scam. The retired justice, who was a trustee of the National NGO Confederation, has been named as the third accused in the case. Sai Gramam Global Trust chairman KN Anand Kumar and Ananthu Krishnan have been listed as the first and second accused, respectively, in a new case registered based on a complaint from the president of Angadippuram Kisan Service Society (KSS), the implementing agency of the scheme. According to the complaint, the trio collected Rs 34 lakh from KSS as instalments.

Police have filed charges under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the accused.

Manorama News reported that around 147 cases have been registered in Malappuram district regarding the fraudulent half-price offer scheme.

Muvattupuzha native Ananthu Krishnan, allegedly the mastermind behind the scam, orchestrated the crime after establishing the National NGO Confederation. He reportedly deceived several NGOs, voluntary associations, and trusts into acting as implementing agencies for the half-price offer scheme, purportedly to identify beneficiaries. Through this fraudulent scheme, Ananthu offered products such as laptops, scooters, sewing machines, and home appliances at half price.

In an attempt to gain credibility, the accused invited VIPs, including politicians and bureaucrats, to distribute products during the initial phase of the scheme. However, following the grand event, no other applicants who had made payments received their products.