KOTTAYAM: Uthup Varghese’s is a rags-to-riches story. The man who was wanted by the CBI for his involvement in the '300-crore nurses’ recruitment racket was finally nabbed by Interpol from Abu Dhabi the other day.
Uthup Varghese, 48, alias M.V. Uthup, son of M.T. Varghese of Mylakad, was a small-time life insurance agent in Puthupally in the 1990s when he used to approach local residents for his insurance business.
Till 1997, he owned only a tiled house. A breakthrough came when he g-ot a job in a company ‘Havana cafe’ in Abu Dhabi where he went on a visiting visa. A commerce graduate, he was later promoted as an accountant.
He married Susan Thomas, a nurse and a native of Manjanikara, in January 1999 and she got a nurse’s job in the ministry in Dubai. The residents of Puthupally say that Uthup was aggressive and had great communication skills.
He was also allegedly involved in an illicit relationship with a married woman which led to altercations and firing by him at the co-brother of the woman.
“His growth with assets worth crores of rupees was sudden. His standing in society increased leading to connections with politicians and church leaders,” said Mr John M. Kuriakose, a neighbour who was allegedly shot at by Uthup.
Uthup began recruiting nurses after he resigned his job in 2006. “He earned huge sums as he was entrusted with the recruitment of the staff at the cafe where he was working,” said sources.
He also took loans in the name of other people and transferred the money outside. He repaid the loans after getting the money from the nurses, sources said.
The properties acquired by Uthup in Kottayam district include 14 cents of land and a house and a five-acre rubber estate at Puthupally, eight- acre rubber estate at Thiruvanchoor and two flats worth Rs 1 crore each in Kottayam town.
He also owns many benami properties in the district and in Bangalore, according to sources.
