A former Kerala High Court judge was allegedly cheated of ₹90 lakh by online fraudsters by promising him huge returns by way of online share marketing.

Sasidharan Nambiyar, 73, of Nadama in Eloor, lost the money in less than a month, between December 4, 2024 and December 30, 2024. The Hill Palace police have registered a case after the former jurist lodged a petition on December 30. Those arraigned as accused in the case have been named as Ayana Joseph and Varsha Singh, though their real identity and location remain yet to be tracked down.

According to the first information report, Mr. Nambiyar was approached by the accused who added him to what he was made to believe was an authentic investment group by sending him a link. He was promised a profit of 850%, based on which he made the payments from various bank accounts through immediate payment service (IMPS) and real-time gross settlement (RTGS) between December 4 and December 30. However, he neither received his investment nor returns as promised.

The police have registered the case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (4) (cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security) and the Information Technology Act Section 66(D) (cheating by personation by using computer resource).