10 lakhs and 10 mobiles as reward; Sub-registrar, who conspired in Jawahar Nagar land fraud case, arrested

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Museum Police arrested a sub-registrar who conspired to forge documents to illegally occupy a house worth more than 10 crores in Jawahar Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrested is K. Lakshmi, a native of Kallikkad and the Sub-Registrar of Sasthamangalam. This land belonged to a woman who had settled in the US. The arrest was made after it was found that she had conspired with a group, including a deed writer, to impersonate, forge documents and tamper with them.

Lakshmi received Rs 10 lakh and 10 mobile phones as a reward. Eight people, including the document writer and former DCC member Ananthapuri Manikandan and industrialist Anil Thambi, were earlier arrested in the case. Among those who signed the fake document, except Anil Thambi, three were impersonators. The registration of the document was done outside the registrar's office to avoid others finding out about the fraud.

It was found that Lakshmi and Manikandan had frequent phone conversations before and after the registration. The 14.5 cents of land in Jawahar Nagar and a 6,000 square feet 10-room house, owned by Dora Azaria Cripps in the US, were thus illegally owned through fraud by the gang. Manikandan was the one who prepared the fake will and deed for Anil Thambi through impersonation. Lakshmi was produced in court and remanded.

The accused conspired to forge documents with the intention of stealing the property of a foreign Malayali in Jawahar Nagar. The fraud took place in January 2025. The gang brought people who looked like Dora and her granddaughter and used impersonation to create documents. Vasantha, a native of Vattappara, was presented as Dora, while Merin, a native of Punalur, was presented as Dora’s granddaughter. Vasantha, who looks like Dora, was presented, and a document was prepared stating that the land was donated to Merin. Then, a document was prepared stating that the land was sold to Anil Thambi's relative, and the deed was registered.

The document writer Manikandan received Rs 2 crore from Anil Thambi to forge documents and impersonate. The initial steps were taken after receiving an advance of Rs 40 lakh.