Kozhikode ACP suspended for swindling jeweller in ₹2.51 crore fraud case
The jeweller’s complaint states that Suresh Babu threatened his life and warned him of false cases being filed against him when he demanded the money back.
The jeweller’s complaint states that Suresh Babu threatened his life and warned him of false cases being filed against him when he demanded the money back.
The jeweller’s complaint states that Suresh Babu threatened his life and warned him of false cases being filed against him when he demanded the money back.
Kerala police suspended the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Traffic (North), Kozhikode, from service for allegedly cheating a jewellery shop owner in Kollam out of ₹2.51 crore.
According to the case against the officer, Suresh Babu, he swindled the jeweller by falsely promising to help him avoid recovery proceedings related to defaults on bank overdrafts, claiming he could influence both the bank and the court.
The jeweller’s complaint states that Suresh Babu threatened his life and warned him of false cases being filed against him when he demanded the money back. Suresh Babu, a native of Thrissur, was suspended following a report submitted by Kollam City Police Commissioner Kiran Narayanan.
Suresh Babu is the first accused in the case. His wife, P V Nusrath (also known as Manasa), and Balachandra Kurup of Sakthikulangara, a doctor working at a private hospital in Kollam, have been named as the second and third accused, respectively.
The jeweller, who owns several outlets in and outside Kollam, filed a complaint with the Chief Minister, prompting a Crime Branch investigation. Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court is considering an anticipatory bail plea submitted by Suresh Babu. The incidents in question occurred in 2023.
Police version
According to police, the jeweller suffered heavy losses during the COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequently defaulted on overdrafts totalling ₹52 crore from a public sector bank. The bank then approached the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Ernakulam to attach 38 properties belonging to the jeweller and his relatives.
At the time, Suresh Babu was serving as DySP in the Cooperative Vigilance section in Thrissur. He allegedly approached the jeweller through Dr Balachandra Kurup, offering to reduce the recovery amount and help regain the attached properties using his supposed influence over the bank and the tribunal judge. Convinced by Suresh Babu and his wife, the jeweller agreed to the proposal, which aimed to reduce the dues from ₹52 crore to ₹25 crore.
Suresh Babu and his wife stayed at a hotel in Kollam to negotiate the deal, during which an agreement was signed with the jeweller. The police officer instructed the jeweller to deposit 10 per cent of the dues, ₹2.5 crore, as an advance with the bank. However, citing his position as a police officer, Suresh Babu said he could not directly accept the money.
Instead, the jeweller transferred ₹25 lakh as the first instalment to Dr Kurup’s bank account. Later, Suresh Babu convinced him to transfer another ₹2.26 crore to the account of his wife, Nusrath. The jeweller lodged a complaint after the full amount of ₹2.51 crore was neither deposited in the bank nor led to any action that halted the recovery proceedings against him.