COIMBATORE: Film actress Namitha’s husband, who was summoned by Salem police, has cited health reasons for not turning up for an inquiry in connection with a cheating case.

Police said Namitha’s husband Veerendra Chowdhary and Manjunath, a BJP functionary were summoned to appear before the police for inquiry.

They both, in a reply to the summons, have claimed they couldn’t come as they were unwell and would turn up after recovery. Police said E Muthuraman, 60 from Madurai, and Dhusyand Yadav, 34 from Punjab, who were running MSME Promotion Council received Rs 50 lakh from one M Gopalsamy, 45 from Suramangalam in 2022 by promising to get him the post of chairman for Tamil Nadu chapter of MSME.

Muthuraman was the all-India chairman of the council, while Dhusyand Yadav was its secretary. When there was a delay in getting him the chairman post, Gopalsamy insisted for his money back. However, the duo returned just Rs 9 lakh in January 2023.

They also claimed to have awarded the post of chairman for MSME sector in Tamil Nadu to Namitha’s husband. Based on a complaint from Gopalsamy, the Suramangalam police recently arrested Muthuraman and Dhusyand.