Chief Of Congress-Allied Kerala Group Arrested In Extortion Case
The Kerala Police arrested Rajendran Vellappalath, president of the Congress-allied Kerala Pravasi Association, for allegedly running an extortion racket. The group reportedly used forged Enforcement Directorate notices to intimidate institutions into paying money.
Why it matters
This case exposes the vulnerability of institutions to sophisticated fraud involving the impersonation of federal investigative agencies.
The Kerala Police have arrested the national president of the Congress-allied Kerala Pravasi Association for his alleged involvement in an extortion racket that used forged Enforcement Directorate (ED) notices to target institutions.Rajendran Vellappalath, who heads the Kerala Pravasi Association-an ally of the United Democratic Front (UDF)-was intercepted and arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Nedumbassery in Ernakulam.Police suspect Vellappalath led an organized syndicate that sent fake ED notices to various organizations, falsely accusing them of money laundering. The gang would then allegedly offer to resolve the "probe" in exchange for hefty sums of money.The racket came to light during an investigation into an extortion attempt targeting the Indian Cooperative Credit Society Limited (ICCSL), which operates across five states.
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