Godman nabbed with 2 accomplices for facilitating cyber crimes for commission

CHENNAI: The city police's west zone cyber crime wing has arrested three persons, including a godman and his accomplices, for working in cahoots with cyber fraudsters.

KS Valavan (49), who called himself 'Athmayogi Yogananda Guruji', was at the centre of the cyber scam, which lured people into pouring money into his trust 'Arappani Aanmeega Arakkattalai'. The trust's bank account was, in turn, used by cyber scammers on a commission basis.

Valavan had claimed in several YouTube interviews that his trust helps in 'Asthi Visarjan' (immersion of ashes) of over 2,000 deceased in Varanasi, among other services.

The arrests were made following the complaint from a 70-year-old city resident who was lured into a 'wealth creation' group on WhatsApp, advertised on Facebook.

Between September 30 and October 22, the senior citizen had transferred Rs 12 lakh in six instalments to the bank accounts of the cyber fraudsters.

Reaping no benefits, the senior citizen realised the con and filed a complaint. The police's trail led to the arrest of the Godman and his accomplices.

The arrested persons were KS Valavan and his associates, G Sumi (43) and S Karthikeyan (29).

An official release by the city police, however, stated, "The accused- Valavan and Sumi opened several bank accounts in the name of the trust and joined hands with cyber criminals, allowing them to use the bank accounts for a commission. They also booked flight tickets for the cyber criminals and housed them in hotels at their own cost."

Further, the National Cyber Crime Reporting (NCRP) portal had so far received 138 complaints in connection with the three bank accounts in the name of the trust. The other accused, Karthikeyan, has seven pending theft and robbery cases against him in Vepery and Virugambakkam police limits, police said.

The arrested persons were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.