Kottayam: Akhil C Varghese, a former clerk in Kottayam municipality who is accused of swindling ₹2.4-crore pension funds of the local body, was finally arrested on Wednesday after several dramatic developments. On one occasion, he gave a slip to the police at the last moment and another time, the vigilance officers foiled his attempt to surrender.

During every stage of the foolproof investigation, the Kottayam vigilance unit was in hot pursuit of Akhil. However, there are indications that the arrest was delayed by six months as approval was not received from their higher-ups. In fact, ‘Malayala Manorama’ published a report on February 5 this year, which said that Akhil had not left the state.

The case, which was registered at the Kottayam West police station, was initially investigated by the Crime Branch and later handed over to the vigilance. The probe was led by Vigilance DySP V R Ravikumar.

As per the report submitted to senior vigilance officers in February this year, Akhil was hiding near the Tamil Nadu border and visited Kollam, his native place, regularly. The report also said that Akhil was likely to escape to Tamil Nadu. However, the vigilance officers in Kottayam did not receive any reply from their superiors. At the same time, the vigilance had taken all steps to ensure that Akhil did not flee abroad.

Wife refused to help
Even though Akhil was present mostly in Kollam after February, he never went to his own house as his wife refused to let him in. She also did not help him find a place to hide from the investigators, forcing Akhil to seek refuge in the houses of some relatives. He reportedly convinced them that he had received bail in the case and his suspension would be revoked soon.

It was S Syamkumar, a resident of Puthenveettil, Karikode, in Kollam and a close relative, who helped Akhil to hide during the days when the scam was exposed. The district crime branch soon arrested Syam, who had also arranged a SIM card for Akhil with his Aadhaar details. Akhil spent several days in Syam’s house after the latter was granted bail. But, later, Syam objected to Akhil staying with him, and the latter shifted to the houses of other relatives. At that time, Akhil told his close friends that he was tired of a life in hiding and planned to surrender to the law.

During his arrest, Akhil carried a mere ₹2,040 in cash and did not use a mobile phone or ATM card. At the same time, the vigilance found that he used the WiFi at the places where he stayed, made WhatsApp calls and carried out transactions with four credit cards.

Shadow police officers in Kollam assisted the vigilance team in arresting Akhil. While working in the bill collection section in Kollam Corporation earlier, Akhil had allegedly siphoned off ₹45 lakh. In that case, he had been arrested by the shadow police. B Mahesh Pillai, CI of vigilance, who was part of the team investigating the Kottayam case, had earlier worked in Kollam.

After the vigilance learnt about Akhil’s presence in Kollam, Mahesh visited the place several times. Finally, the investigators could nab Akhil as he developed differences with Syam, who was protecting him. The vigilance officers have now summoned Syam for further questioning.

Probe extends to UK man
Vigilance officers have received information that Akhil received help from more people, including a relative in the UK. They also learnt that this relative in the UK spoke to Akhil’s wife through another person. He told Akhil’s wife that Akhil wished to meet her and explain matters. However, Akhil’s wife replied that she did not want to have anything to do with a fraudster. She also passed on this information to the vigilance. Meanwhile, the vigilance also found that Akhil’s relative in the UK had contacted many people to explore ways to save him.