Chennai police arrest two men in 17-year-old LIC fraud case

The Greater Chennai police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested two men for their involvement in a 2009 LIC maturity cheque fraud case. The suspects, Prathap (41) and Arjunan (50), had been evading authorities for approximately 17 years.

The fraud involved a maturity cheque worth Rs 3,22,500 belonging to LIC policyholder V Vijayakumar. The suspects allegedly intercepted the cheque sent to a Sowcarpet address, forged documents in the policyholder's name, and impersonated him to misappropriate the funds through a bank.

Investigators noted that Prathap had used a false name and a black-and-white photograph to encash the cheque, which initially hindered identification. He was eventually traced after police matched the photograph to a document submitted to the Income Tax department. Both men have been remanded in judicial custody.