Police zero in on visa fraud prime accused

KOCHI: The city police probing the suicide of Varkala native Shajahan, who had jumped to his death from the 12th floor of Revenue Tower here on Wednesday, have zeroed in on prime accused Abdul Salam, a native of Alappuzha.
Police have got information about the accused through two of his friends.
Police have got four mobile numbers used by Salam from the informants.
Top officials with the city police said that a special cell under the leadership of Ernakulam ACP K V Vijayan has intensified search for the accused.
It was on Wednesday afternoon that Shajahan had jumped from Revenue Tower, which houses the city police commissioner's office. He had collected money from several job aspirants on behalf of Salam who promised to arrange job visas to foreign countries.
Nearly 30 job aspirants had come to the commissioner's office to file a mass petition. Shajahan had also filed a petition stating that he was merely a collection agent and had lost Rs 35,000, which he had given to Salam for visa.
Shajahan jumped from the building after a few job aspirants allegedly taunted him asking to return the money. The complainants had given Rs 30,000 and above for the visa.
"We got details of Salam from a bank through which the defrauded amount to the tune of Rs 8 lakh was transferred to his account. The accused had stayed in an apartment at Marine Drive for a month. We also got visuals of the accused from CCTV cameras," said a police officer.
ACP Vijayan said investigation has been spread to other districts where the accused had cheated vulnerable job seekers in similar fashion.
"Salam was involved in cheating cases in Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram. We are getting several complaints against the accused since Thursday. We hope to nab him soon," said Vijayan.
Vijayan said that Salam had befriended Shajahan in Mumbai where the accused is believed to be hiding currently. "Salam initially collected Rs 35,000 from Shajahan by promising to arrange a job visa in the Gulf. He later asked Shajahan to collect money from other people who are looking for jobs abroad," Vijayan added.