[Fake Antiques Scam] Did Monson Mavunkal have ties with ex-pat organisations? Kerala High Court asks State Police

The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the State Police Chief to clarify whether Monson Mavunkal, the accused in the fake antiques scam had the assistance of any ex-patriate organisations to facilitate his operations (Ajith EV v. Commissioner of Police and Ors.)..Single judge Justice Devan Ramachandran issued the order after observing that reports in the public domain have been alleging the same and it is necessary for the Court to know the extent of the scam. "It is in the public domain that an association of ex-patriates is involved and I don't find it anywhere in this report. And that may be crucial because the link between this man (Mavunkal) and various (police) officers is supposed to be through that particular organisation. Now my worry as a citizen of this state is whether there are bigger things than what we can see now," the Court said in its order.Therefore, the Court directed the Director General of Prosecution to obtain information from the Special Investigation Team if any entity having links beyond the borders of Kerala or having members of persons who are not residents of Kerala are involved in this scam. .Justice Ramachandran pointed out that Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 (Act) defines antiquities as anything which is over 100 years of age or a book or manuscript which is over 75 years of age. He also remarked that the Act and a Central government notification make it abundantly clear that all antiquities are compulsorily registrable."Were not these police aware of the Act? Were they not aware that when somebody tells them that they have the throne of Tipu or the Staff of Moses, which by any account is over 100 years of age, that those articles must be compulsorily registered or there was a violation of law? Therefore, if the officers saw antiquities of this nature, and you are saying no one doubted their authenticity, the first thing that should have crossed the police officers' minds is whether these articles are registered?".Speaking of the delay in the case, when suspicions were raised as early as in May 2019, Justice Ramachandran remarked that it is because of this delay and inaction that the state of affairs as it concerns Mavunkal and his nefarious activities are where they are at today.""The man took the entire system for a ride. Had a suspicion been raised on May 11, 2019, everything could have been put to a stop then. Now look at where we are today . There are POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases registered. Your own statement is saying that. Rape cases are registered. Imagine, all this was being done, when highest of officers, not police alone, were visiting his house. What should we make of this?".At the hearing today, Director General of Prosecution TA Shaji referred to the affidavit that had been filed on behalf of the State Police Chief. Shaji submitted that the police officers who had been seen visiting Mavunkal's house in May 2019 had not gone in an official capacity, but out of curiosity about historical artefacts that Mavunkal claimed to possess. He further stated that pursuant to this visit, one of the officers allayed his suspicion on May 11 regarding the authenticity of the items at Mavunkal's residence after which it was recorded in a source report which was sent to the Intelligence Bureau. However, this drew the ire of the Court which asked why none of the Police officers seemed to be aware of the Act which is intended to pre-empt such offences, not just to punish..Monson Mavunkal had grabbed headlines across the State when reports of him allegedly conning people of over ₹10 crore through fake antiques began to surface.Thereafter, Mavunkal's former driver, the petitioner in this case, approached the Kerala High Court through advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese.He sought protection from his former boss after he had disclosed some information regarding Mavunkal's scam to the police.Later, he informed the court that he has been receiving threats from police officials associated with Mavunkal and therefore, sought protection from such police officers as well. .During the previous hearing of the case, the Court had asked if the State Police Chief can truly trust the officers under his command to conduct a proper investigation as there seems to be allegations of misconduct against officers of all ranks. The Court had also sought an explanation from the State police as to why no suspicion was raised against Mavunkal even when articles like elephant tusks were reported to be in his possession.These supposed antiques and elephant tusks were later found to have been fake. However, the Court had highlighted that even when the authenticity, or otherwise, of these articles had not been known, Mavunkal seemed to have been given police protection, instead of being taken into custody. .The matter will be taken up next on November 11, 2021, by which time the State Police Chief is expected to file a statement responding to the Court's queries.