By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG: A news item appearing in The New Indian Express, Chennai on August 11 stated that one Rocky Wells Sutnga of Meghalaya filed a complaint with the Chennai City Crime Branch on June 16, alleging that he was cheated by Global Services Agency run by Rithanya alias Kanchana (26) on Chakrapani Street in Kodambakkam. Sutnga had responded to the advertisement by the Agency while seeking a medical seat for his son Marjan Wao Chyrmang.
Sutnga paid Rs 27 lakh after being promised a seat in Meenakshi Medical College by Convent educated VISCOM graduate and a former television journalist, Rithanya alias Kanchana who is now behind bars.
Rithanya promised to secure him a seat in the medical college using “influence and connection”.
Skeletons are slowly tumbling out of the young woman’s closet.
According to CCB Inspector GS Premanand, Rithanya had contacts with admission touts, who directed the aspirants and their parents to her office.
“To them, she pretended to be influential and with connections to secure seats under the MP quota and so on,” he said.
Sutnga paid Rs. 27 lakh to the con woman for a seat for his son at Meenakshi Medical College, the inspector said. He grew suspicious when weeks passed and the promised seat did no materialize. In order to buy time, Rithanya held out false assurances, executed on stamp papers, that she would return his money. She also gave him cheques.
“That appears to be her modus operandi. She would repay some portion of the cash and the victims, eager to avoid lengthy legal procedures, would go away”, the police officer said.
The CCB registered a complaint and a special team launched a search for the woman, who absconded after sensing trouble. On a tip off, the sleuths nabbed her at Egmore on August 7.
During interrogation it came to light that she studied in a popular T Nagar convent school. A visual communication graduate from a deemed university here, she worked with a leading English TV channel in New Delhi for six months. She entered the racket to make easy money, the CCB sleuth said.
She had been arrested in January on a similar complaint of a Rs. 19 lakh fraud. The police suspect that there could be more victims like Sutnga, who had been lured by the promise of a medical seat and cheated to the tune of several lakh rupees.