A. R. Gopinathan, accused in the BSNL Engineers Cooperative Society Ltd scam, has reportedly been taken into custody by the Crime Branch. A former president of the society, Mr. Gopinathan was picked up from Kottarakkara. The 73-year-old is accused of cheating depositors in the BSNL Engineers Cooperative Society Ltd (No. T 950) of crores of rupees. The police had issued a look-out notice for Mr. Gopinathan and Rajeev A. R., a clerk at the society. A court in Thiruvananthapuram had rejected their bail pleas in January, and since then, both men were absconding. Mr. Rajeev is yet to be found. Opposing the bail plea, the prosecution had pointed out that around 2,000 depositors had been cheated out of over ₹200 crore. The case is being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch.
