Ayana and Varsha siphoned off Rs 90 lakhs from Justice Sasidharan Nambiar; Police begin investigation

KOCHI: The women gang that siphoned Rs 90 lakhs from a retired High Court judge promising high profit in online trading, contacted him through WhatsApp. Retired Justice M. Sasidharan Nambiar (73) was the victim of fraud. According to his statement, Ayana Joseph and Varsha Singh siphoned his money after chatting through WhatsApp. Hill Palace police started an investigation into the case.

The police said that the names could be fake and an investigation was going on with the help of a cyber cell to identify the accused. The case has been registered under fraud and criminal breach of trust. The scam promised eight and a half times (850%) profit on the money invested in trading. Justice Sasidharan Nambiar was added to a WhatsApp group called Aditya Birla Equity Learning Group by unknown people without his permission.

From this group, Ayana (8148788974) and Varsha (8485970694) contacted him and offered the profit. The instructions were to go to the link and deposit the money. Justice Nambiar deposited Rs 90 lakh several times from his various accounts. Out of this, Rs 28 lakhs are 'held' without reaching the accused's account. The police said that they would clarify this with the banks. This amount is expected to be recoverable.

The Hill Palace police took a statement on January 4 on the complaint of Justice Sasidharan Nambiar. An FIR was registered the next day. The accused's phone numbers are now switched off.

“The money went to accounts in northern India. The police have high hopes of recovering the money” said A.L. Yesudas, SHO, Tripunithura.