Rajeev, real estate broker, was found murdered in Chalakudy.Thrissur: The Kerala police team investigating the murder of a real estate broker in Chalakudy has confirmed that the victim and the prime suspects in the case were business partners for the past seven years.
The victim, Rajeev, 46, Angamaly native, who studied only up to Class IV, amassed huge assets during this period, the police said. Initially, he worked as a gardener at the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, but preliminary investigations revealed that he had accumulated wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
According to the police, Rajeev engaged in real estate business worth crores of rupees as a benami of the key suspects in the case, High Court lawyer C. P. Udayabhanu and Cherumadathil Johny of Angamaly, and it was suspected that rivalry in connection with real estate deals might have led to the murder.
Alliance with Johny
Rajeev’s life changed after he joined hands with Johny alias Chakkara Johny and started engaging in real estate business on a major scale. The duo had involved in land deals worth corers of rupees in the area, the police said. Two years ago, Rajeev moved into a posh residence in Nayathodu near Angamaly before he fell out with Johny over a financial dispute.
Lawyer’s entry
Johny had alleged that Rajeev owed him a huge sum of money. There were also reports that Johny had hired a quotation gang to eliminate him. Advocate C.P. Udayabhanu came into picture when Rajeev approached him to file a case against Johny. Subsequently, a new alliance began to take shape. During that period, police protection had been provided to Rajeev based on a complaint lodged with the Nedumbassery police.
In order to file a vigilance case against Johny, Rajeev secured documents pertaining to 36 land deals involving the former through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The files were eventually handed over to the lawyer in order to pursue the case against Johny. In the meantime, the families of Rajeev and Udayabhanu became very close.
According to the police, Udayabhanu purchased 27 cents of land in Nayathodu. It is said that an amount of Rs 20 lakh had been given as advance to the landowner. The lawyer had also entered into an agreement with a native of Irinjalakuda to buy 17.5 acres of land in Palakkad. Of the total advance amount of Rs 50 lakh, Udayabhanu gave Rs 40 lakh while the remaining Rs 10 lakh was paid by Rajeev, who acted as the middleman in both the deals.
Shady deals
Meanwhile, a politician hailing from Eloor took about Rs 32 lakh from the lawyer promising him to arrange gold at a cheaper rate. As the politician, a local leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was in jail in connection with a cheating case, the gold was not handed over to the lawyer. He sought Rajeev’s help to get the money back. When the politician was released from the jail, Rajeev advised him to sell his 1.5 acres of land to the lawyer to settle the issue.
Due to the demonetization of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, the advance agreement to purchase land in Palakkad, Nedumbassery and Nayathodu could not be executed. Eventually, Udayabhanu and Rajeev had a dispute and Johny made most of the opportunity to befriend the former. Johny took possession of the RTI documents from the lawyer’s office and filed a complaint against Rajeev alleging financial fraud.
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