63-yr-old man cons Coimbatore public by promising TNSCB houses, arrested

According to sources, the conned public never had an iota of doubt while parting with their hard-earned money to the accused, Syed Kuthuz-a resident of South Ukkadam here-as he often showed off and claimed himself to be close to politicians.

In a further bid to make others believe him, Syed even produced a morphed photograph of himself with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. He also met people only in posh hotels and used only green ink to sign documents, which he never gave to others, sources said. Although people evicted from encroached waterbodies here are housed in the TNSCB tenements in Vellalore and Ukkadam, Syed promised poor people in and around areas such as Karumbukadai, Ukkadam and Podanur of accommodation in the tenements. He also took up to Rs 60,000 from those who fell for his scam.

Syed’s accomplice, identified as Akbar, who has gone into hiding, had also reportedly collected money and handed it over to the former. Based on a complaint from Abbas and Muhammed Rafiq, a case was registered and the accused was arrested on Wednesday.

The police have so far received complaints from 48 persons who have been duped of over Rs 15 lakh in the scam. The police are on the lookout for another accused who is absconding, and further investigations are on.