CHENNAI: A house owner, who refused to return Rs 23 lakh that he had collected as lease amount to a former tenant even after the lease period got over, was arrested by the Greater Chennai Police.

The Anna Nagar police registered a case based on a complaint that they received from the tenant, George Gnanaprakasam. In 2021, the complainant had taken an apartment in Anna Nagar Shanthi Colony on a two-year lease after paying an amount of Rs 23 lakh to the house owner, Virendra Anandkumar.

The lease period got over in 2023 but Virendra did not give back the money, police said. Every time George approached him and demanded the money back, the house owner kept on dodging him. Finally, after waiting for more than two years, he lodged a police complaint, after which the Anna Nagar police conducted investigations and arrested Virendra.

Their inquiry revealed that apart from not returning the lease amount to the complainant, the arrested person had also mortgaged the said property in a bank and availed loan on the apartment. The property is yet to be hypothecated by the bank.

After being arrested, Virendra was sent for judicial remand on Wednesday.