Nine people were arrested in connection with the brutal killing of Charles Benjamin (also known as Arun), a native of Coimbatore, who was murdered in a dispute tied to the infamous Iridium rice puller scam. The accused include Muhammad Sadiq (59) from Kannur, Salim (54) from Thalassery, Fais (48), Mujeeb (49) from Thrissur, Dileep Chandran (44) from Thrissur, Dhanesh (32) from Sreenarayanapuram, Suresh (48) from Ernakulam, Shihab (40) from Azheekode, and Abhay (19) from Sreenarayanapuram.
The incident occurred on the 23rd of this month, when Charles Benjamin and another man, Shashankan from Kollam, had allegedly taken Rs 65 lakh from Sadiq, promising to provide a rare iridium object. However, after discovering that they had been scammed, Sadiq and his associates lured Benjamin to the Puthukkad toll plaza. There, they fatally assaulted him, leaving his body in an ambulance.
Shashankan, who was also attacked during the incident, managed to survive the assault. Following an intensive investigation, the police arrested the nine individuals involved in the brutal act. The authorities are continuing their probe into the circumstances surrounding the scam and the murder.
This tragic event highlights the dangerous repercussions of the Iridium rice puller scam, which has led to multiple cases of fraud and violence in recent years.