Kollam: The case involving a suspended Assistant Police Commissioner and two others, accused of swindling ₹2.51 crore from a jewellery shop owner, will likely be handed over to the State Crime Branch.

City Police Commissioner Kiran Narayan has submitted a recommendation to the Director General of Police (DGP) requesting the transfer of the case. The DGP's response is expected shortly. The District Crime Branch is currently handling the investigation.

The prime accused, K A Suresh Babu, was serving as the Assistant Police Commissioner (Traffic) in Kozhikode and is presently under suspension. His wife, V P Nusrath ( Manasa), is the second accused. The third accused is Dr Balachandra Kurup, a Shakthikulangara native who works as a doctor at a private hospital in Kollam.

The case was originally registered by the Kollam East Police following a complaint filed by Abdul Salam, who owns a jewellery group with outlets within and outside the district. The complaint was submitted to the Chief Minister, and as the amount involved exceeded ₹2 crore, the probe was transferred to the District Crime Branch.

According to the complaint, the jeweller had defaulted on a ₹52 crore overdraft from a public sector bank. When the bank approached a tribunal to attach properties offered as collateral, the accused approached the complainant through Dr Kurup, claiming they could influence bank and court officials to retrieve the pledged assets by reducing the liability.

The couple also collected ₹2.51 crore from the jeweller in multiple instalments. But when no action was taken as promised, the jeweller filed a complaint.

Evidence gathering continues

While the case is likely to be taken over by the State Crime Branch, the District Crime Branch is continuing its investigation by collecting evidence, including bank statements, fund transfer records and transaction logs. The accused are slated to be questioned after all relevant documents are examined. The investigation is being led by Assistant Commissioner Binu Sreedhar of the District Crime Branch.