THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Actor Dhanya Mary Varghese, her husband and actor John Jacob and his brother Samuel Jacob were arrested by the city police in connection with a Rs 130 crore real estate scam. The accused, who were absconding for quite sometime, were arrested from a hideout in Nagercoil on Thursday night. John’s father Jacob Samson hailing from Muttada here was arrested earlier in this connection.
According to police, a construction firm, Samson and Sons Builders and Developers, run by the accused collected about Rs 100 crore from customers offering around 500 flats and 20 villas in various parts of the district. Another Rs 30 crore was collected from many investors offering attractive returns. As the firm failed to handover projects on time, the customers approached the police. Investors who did not get the assured returns also approached the police.
Subsequently Mr Jacob, who was the company’s chairman, was held last month. Dhanya was heading the marketing wing of the firm and her husband was MD and his brother a director. Dhanya shot into prominence for her 'girl next door' looks that Malayalis loved. Despite being active in Malayalam and Tamil industry for seven years Dhanya’s presence was forgettable with a bunch of flop movies and average performances. Police said many of the customers of the firm were Non-resident Indians. A probe is also on to trace any investments made by the accused. A team led by city crime detachment assistant commissioner M.S. Santosh and Peroorkada circle inspector Suresh Babu is probing the case.
