Kochi police help Mumbai cops trace Malayali woman in ₹1.3-cr job fraud after months on the run

Kochi: With her phone switched off and her whereabouts unknown for nearly two months, CR Sruthi, a Malayali woman booked by Mumbai police in an alleged ₹1.30-crore overseas recruitment fraud, appeared to have slipped off the cops radar.

When they hit a dead end, a Kochi police team picked up the cold trail by meticulously following digital breadcrumbs to piece together clues, trace her to a secluded studio apartment in Kakkanad, and hand the Mumbai Police the breakthrough needed for her arrest.

Sruthi (34), a native of Amballoor near Mulanthuruthy and a trusted employee at the Kochi branch of Multilink Management Consultant Pvt. Ltd., an overseas recruitment consultancy based in Mumbai, allegedly collected money from around 430 job aspirants along with her Mumbai-based colleague, Sruthi Sanjay Walawalkar, without the company’s knowledge and duped the firm of over ₹1.3 crore.

Sruthi went into hiding after Mumbai’s Mahim Police registered a case and arrested Walawalkar, the first accused, on August 20. Since then, her phone has been switched off and has never been switched on again. Mahim police team had come to Kochi earlier to trace her, but Sruthi managed to evade them for nearly two months by carefully avoiding digital footprints.

The breakthrough came when the Mahim police sought Kochi police’s help, and a team led by Ernakulam Central Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sibi Tom shifted the focus of the hunt from Sruthi’s dormant phone to the communication patterns of people close to her. By analysing their contact details and tracking an associate, the team traced her to a residential complex in Nilampathinjamukal, Kakkanad, on Thursday.

“She never expected the police to turn up there,” said a police officer who was part of the ACP’s squad involved in tracing her.

From a cold trail to a Kakkanad apartment
A three-member team from Mahim Police Station had earlier spent around five days searching for Sruthi at possible locations in Kerala, including areas around Amballur and Mulanthuruthy. However, the searches did not lead to her.

The Mumbai team also faced allegations of harassment by Sruthi’s kin and associates when they visited places where she was suspected to be staying. According to the Kochi police, one of them has even approached the High Court over the police visits.

Meanwhile, Sruthi had also approached the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory bail, which was rejected.

With the trail going cold, Mumbai Police sought assistance from the Kochi City police around three weeks ago. ACP’s team analysed the communication records and frequent contacts of Sruthi’s family members, including her parents, to identify a possible lead.

“We were continuously monitoring communication details. It took us around two weeks to trace her,” the officer told Onmanorama.

The investigation led the team to a male associate with whom Sruthi was staying. Plainclothes officers tracked his movements for nearly two weeks before narrowing down her location to Solas Village at Nilampathinjamukal.

A staff member at the residential facility confirmed having seen Sruthi there and told investigators that she rarely ventured outside, the officer said.

The Kochi squad alerted Mahim Police rather than arresting her independently, as the case was registered in Mumbai. Once the Mumbai team arrived, the two police units moved in together.

Sruthi was arrested without resistance, produced before the Kakkanad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court and handed over to Mumbai Police on a transit warrant.

The Kochi team included Sub-Inspector E M Shaji, Assistant Sub-Inspector Sunil P, Jaleel and Senior Civil Police Officers Prasanth Babu, Hareesh Babu, Vipin, Shijith, Ajilesh and Shibu, according to the police statement.

How the alleged fraud surfaced
According to The Free Press Journal, the case was registered on a complaint by Albert Joseph Abalarthik, managing director of Multilink Management Consultant Pvt. Ltd., an overseas recruitment firm established in 1993.

The company reportedly suffered an estimated loss of ₹1.30 cr after two employees allegedly misused its name to collect unauthorised payments from overseas job seekers between 2022 and 2026.

The alleged fraud came to light when a candidate who had returned from Qatar on leave approached his employer over pending dues and recruitment-related expenses. He produced a PhonePe transaction screenshot showing a ₹40,000 payment to an HDFC Bank account in the name of Sruthi C R.

Another candidate also reported paying money to Sruthi’s account after being promised overseas employment. An internal inquiry found that the candidates were not listed in the company’s official records. Walawalkar allegedly admitted on July 24 that she and Sruthi had been collecting money without the management’s knowledge since 2022.

The company’s subsequent investigation identified 433 candidates who had allegedly been recruited through the unauthorised arrangement. The alleged scheme involved collecting payments directly from candidates, including through PhonePe and cash.