Valapattanam (Kannur): A 47-year-old female teacher was arrested on Saturday on charges of cheating different persons to the tune of Rs 1 crore in the name of real estate business.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused, K.N. Jyothi Lakshmi of Jyothish, TC Gate, Narath, near Kannur, was wanted in several cheating cases.

Jyothi Lakshmi, who had gone into hiding after an arrest warrant was issued against her, was nabbed by a police team led by Valapattanam SI Sreejith Kodiyeri from her rented flat on the outskirts of Kannur.

According to the police, she used the money to lead a luxurious life and fund the studies of her daughter who has been pursuing MBBS.

Last week, a native of Kathiroor, one of her victims, had committed suicide depressed over losing huge sum of money after being defrauded by the accused.

Jyothi Lakshmi was living alone due to family disputes. Well-dressed, the woman had the gift of the gab to take advantage of the gullibility of unsuspecting individuals after she turned into real estate business a couple of years ago, the police said.

The police arrested her following the complaint of one Mukundan hailing from Oladathazha near Azheekode for allegedly duping him an amount of Rs 40 lakh in 2015 by offering a tract of land in Taliparamba. Subsequently, she went into hiding after switching off her mobile, the police said.

Jyothi Lakshmi had also collected Rs 20 lakh from one Kunhikrishnan from Kathiroor. Last week, he committed suicide at a lodge room in Kannur after the accused turned down his request to return the money for the wedding of his daughter. Ever since, she kept shifting base to give police the slip.

She was also involved in similar cheating cases in Coimbatore and Kozhikode, the police said.

There were pending arrest warrants against her at police stations in Taliparamba and Kannur Town.

She had also allegedly siphoned off around Rs 4 lakh from a taxi driver in Kannur.

A protected teacher, Jyothi Lakshmi availed long leave to indulge in real estate business. Initially, she was appointed at Fisheries LP school at Azhikode before being transferred to a government UP school in Narath. But she was regularly absent from duty.

Though the District Education Officer (DEO) sought an explanation from her for the unauthorized absence from duty, she did not respond to the notice. Most of her financial dealings of late had been murky, the police said.

She was produced before a local court on Saturday which sent her to judicial custody for two weeks.

Luxurious life

Jyothi Lakshmi, who led a luxurious life with the money, used to visit Bengaluru and Mysore regularly on rented taxis, the police said. She used to stay in star hotels and purchase expensive clothes using the amounts collected from her victims.

However, she used to cheat the taxi drivers as well without paying their bills. Recently, Ayoob, a taxi driver hailing from Kannur lodged a complaint alleging that she had cheated him of Rs 4 lakh after hiring his vehicle a couple of time to travel to Bengaluru. She paid him only a meager amount for filling fuel during the journeys, the complainant said.

A man, claimed to be a relative, was also with her when she was arrested from her apartment. The taxi drivers told the police that during the pleasure trips, she was accompanied by a number of her female friends.

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