Visa scam: Main accused nabbed by police

KOLENCHERY: The police have arrested the main accused in the case of defrauding a woman from Kolancheri of Rs 6,29,000 by promising a visa to Israel. The arrested has been identified as Anilkumar Natesan (55), hailing from Valiyavila Colony, Vizhinjam.

He was arrested from Varapuzha after committing fraud and absconding for a year. The preliminary information is that more than twenty people have lost money in this way.

According to the police, Anil Kumar Natesan, who came to Israel on a caretaker visa in 2010, stayed there illegally after the visa expired in 2016 and extorted money from people in different districts by offering jobs. Instead of accepting money into his own account, he would find those who needed visas through his friends back home and would make them send money to people in Udupi, Noida, Delhi and Pune who had worked with him in Israel. Then through his people in India, the money will be sent to Indians in Israel and Anil Kumar will receive the money from them. Major transactions were done under his leadership. The second accused is a woman, who is a native of Kannur's Karikottakari. There is a similar case against this person. As per reports, she is illegally living in Israel.

Anil Kumar has been jailed twice for staying illegally in Israel. After marrying a Varapuzha native woman he met there, Anil returned to India in 2021 and was living in Varapuzha under a fake address. He was arrested while preparing to go back with a new passport. There are cases against him in Kannur, Palakkad, Idukki and Ernakulam Rural.

A team comprising DySP TB Vijayan, Inspector T Dileesh, ASIs Sujith, Manoj and Senior Civil Police Officer B Chandra Bose nabbed the accused in a months-long investigation.