Police custody of Kerala's fake antique dealer extended till Oct 2

Kochi: A court here on Thursday extended the police custody of now arrested fake antique dealer Monson Mavunkal till October 2.

The 54-year-old was arrested on Sunday by the district Crime Branch which has been probing complaints against the dealer of having swindled Rs 10 crore from several people.

As per reports, the master 'fraud' has even taken the top most Kerala Police officials for a ride.

The list of people who fell under the trap of the master fraud includes former state police chief Loknath Behra, serving additional director general of police Manoj Abraham, State Congress president K. Sudhakaran, former Chief Secretary Jiji Thompson, among others, who are all facing the music for their proximity with him.

Mavunkal took all his high profile guests into his fold by showcasing antiques in his collection which he claimed included the "staff of Moses" and "two of the 30 silver coins that were taken by Judas to cheat Jesus Christ".

Police said that he had showcased these "rare" items -- a throne said to be used by Tipu Sultan, as well as a huge collection of old Qurans, Bibles (Old Testament and New Testament), and old handwritten copies of Bhagavad Gita.

Presently under the custody of the Crime Branch, on Thursday the chief of it S. Sreejith arrived here to question him directly and he said that three cheating cases against Mavunkal have already been registered.

Mavunkal also has numerous high value vehicles which are parked in his house here, while a few vehicles of his, which includes a 2007 model Porsche Boxster registered in the name of actress Kareena Kapoor, is presently parked in a local police station at his home district Alappuzha.

Meanwhile according to sources in the know of things after questioning by the Crime Branch, Mavunkal has told the probe team he is completely broke and has no money left with him as he led a luxurious life and he requires a massive sum of money every month for meeting his expenses.