YouTuber Monson Mavunkal sent to judicial custody for swindling money

YouTuber and Patron of Expatriates' Association Monson Mavunkal has been sent to judicial custody till October 6 on Monday for allegedly swindling Rs 4 crores from several people by claiming possession of centuries-old antiques, and providing fake documents.

The decision was taken by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court of Ernakulam, Kerala after he was arrested by the Crime Branch team of Kochi Police on Sunday at Cherthala in Alappuzha District.

The report filed by the investigation team in the court stated, "The fraud was operated by forging a document in the name of a foreign bank. There was no bank account abroad in his name."

"He deceived the complainants by convincing them that Rs 2,62,000 crore was credited to his bank account by selling antiquities and he needs Rs 10 crores to withdraw it. He assured them that if they give him money, he will give interest-free loans to them for starting a business," the report said.

As per the report, Mavunkal claimed that his precious antique collection includes a throne of Tipu Sultan, the first edition of the Holy Bible, the books used by Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji, the last Mughal emperor Aurangazeb and Mysore Sultan Tipu Sultan.

"Several holy books and documents such as a version of the great epic Mahabharata written in palm leaves, and the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and Pablo Picasso are some of the items claimed to be in his possession," stated the report.

"He had sold the antiquities claiming that it was not the original but a copy of it. Investigation revealed that these were made by a carpenter based in Cherthala at Alappuzha district," it stated.

It has also been alleged that some pictures of the accused with Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran, Congress leader Laly Vincent and former Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson are circulating on social media.

(ANI)