Crime Branch busts ‘fake antique’ racket in Kochi
The Hindu
Vlogger Monson Mavunkal held on the charge of conspiracy, cheating and forgery
The Crime Branch (CB) has arrested a self-styled antique collector and amateur archaeologist on the charge of palming off recently handcrafted cheap knock-offs as authentic relics to uninformed, over-enthusiastic and well-heeled persons with a zeal for acquiring rare artefacts.
Officials identified the suspect as Monson Mavunkal, an alleged confidence trickster who moved about in celebrity circles in Kochi posing as a German-trained cosmetologist and member of the World Peace Council. He is also a vlogger with a sizeable social media following.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, refrained from hearing, out of turn, a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed against YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar alias A. Shankar’s detention under the Goondas Act and said that it would be taken up for final hearing in the regular course, by following the chronological order in which such petitions, challenging preventive detention orders, are filed.