Crime Branch wing of the Kerala Police has named Congress Kerala chief K Sudhakaran as the second accused in the Monson Mavunkal fake antique fraud case.
The Crime Branch on Monday submitted its report to the Ernakulam Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate court (ACJM court) in Kochi accusing Sudhakaran of complicity in the case. It served a notice on Sudhakaran asking him to appear for questioning at its office at Kalamassery in Kochi on Wednesday
The alleged connection between the KPCC chief and the fake antique dealer came to light after the pictures of K Sudhakaran posing with Monson Mavunkal had surfaced earlier.
A group of people, who lodged a complaint against Monson Mavunkal for allegedly swindling Rs 10 crore from them have, in their complaint, said they had handed over Rs 25 lakh to Mavunkal in the presence of Sudhakaran on November 22, 2018. The complainants said Mavunkal had claimed to be a cosmetologist and even treated Sudhakaran
Sudhakaran had said he met Mavunkal on five occasions to seek treatment, but discontinued it after that. However, he denied having any financial dealings with Mavunkal.
The Crime Branch in September 2021 arrested Monson Mavunkal who had allegedly cheated people by selling fake antiques and claimed his collection has staff of Moses, two out of the 30 silver coins taken by Judas and the throne of Tipu Sultan by knitting a web of lies to woo influential persons including politicians, film stars and top cops.
A number of senior officers in the state police, including former police chief Lokanath Behera had been pictured with Mavunkal.ADGP Manoj Abraham and former IG G Lakshman were also found to have visited the conman at his residence in Kochi.