Self–proclaimed 'bishop' cons people, arrested

A self–styled bishop, who has been charged with siphoning off at least Rs. 10 crore ($ 2.2 million) from three contractors on the pretext of constructing houses for poor people, has been arrested, according to police sources.

'Bishop' Daiva Anandaraj of Molin Vision Church, Mahabalipuram, was arrested following a complaint by building contractors Sinha, Sivakumar and Ganesan belonging to Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively, police officials, handling the investigation, said.

The bishop had also approached a reputed builder called Jacons Building Technologies (JBT) in Bangalore regarding a hospital project in Tamilnad, Christian Today has learnt.

"We made an agreement with the bishop. After that we made several visits to his residence, church and also the project site," R. Jagannath, managing director, JBT recalled.

"We made nearly 100 visits to Anandaraj's house and everytime he used to give assuarnce regarding the project. We lost our valuable time. Now all his contact numbers are offline and he is not available," he said.

According to sources close to the development, Anandaraj, a self–proclaimed bishop, had been widely publicising for the last five years that he would be constructing low–cost houses for the poor in the area with the funds received from abroad and hence he needed contractors for this building programme.

Trusting him wholly, several contractors approached him. They were promised contracts worth over Rs. 6 crores. Bishop Anandaraj then extracted huge commissions from them on the promise of awarding them the contracts. Some of these contractors, relying on his promise built houses spending crores of rupees for which Bishop Anandaraj had issued cheques. However, the cheques bounced unpaid.

Sensing that they were being cheated, the contractors approached the local police and complained that the accused had not returned the huge amounts collected from them as earnest deposit for the project, which failed to take off.

Cases have been registered against 12 others, including the family members of Anandaraj, following the complaint, police said.

After the police clamped down on the bishop's activities, his church on the East Coast Road was shut down.

Investigations by the police on the bishop have now revealed that cheating was just one of the many crimes that he is alleged to have masterminded.

According to media reports, the discredited Bishop not just led a royal life with the money that he amassed by cheating others but also had extramarital affair with an employee working in the company that he was running.

Police said Anandaraj, a native of Odhiyur village in Villupuram district had rented a house in Perambur in 1980 and converted to Christianity. He was involved in proselytization in the village adjoining East Coast Road in the 1980s going everyday in a bicycle.

It was there that he came into contact with some foreign tourists. With the help of a French national, he bought a house in Vadanemili in 1990. He then started an orphanage called Molin Mission Church and later a church near Mahabalipuram.

He had taken money from some youths in the adjoining villages promising jobs in Singapore. But when he could not do what he had promised, the cheated youth searched for him. But the bishop went absconding.

But as it happened, he did not mend his evil ways.

Meanwhile with the help of a friend, Bishop Anandaraj started Rural Resource Research Development Agency and again cheated many to the tune of several lakhs. He took money from several contractors promising them jobs.

Proclaiming himself as a bishop, Anandaraj often conducted huge Christian meetings bringing together several Christian priests and earned their trust, sources close to the development, said.

He purchased properties in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Thirukazhikundram, Mahabalipuram and many other areas. The bishop was married to one Daisy and has five daughters.

Meanwhile, it is also alleged that Anandaraj had an affair with a woman employee in one of his firms, the purported reason being that he wanted a male progeny.

Interestingly, police investigations have also revealed that he had aspirations of entering politics too and starting a All India Christian People's Party.

According to independent investigations carried out by Christian Today, nearly 35 building contractors have now given a written complaint to Kancheepuram Superintendent of Police (SP) A. Amalarj against Bishop Anandaraj, who was arrested on August 4 on charges of cheating.

The contractors were represented by Trans India Foundation, Chennai, which gave the SP a detailed list of contractors who had paid Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to the Bishop for obtaining contracts for a subsidised housing scheme which the bishop had floated.

The contractors were from various parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala.

Ranging from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh, the total amount alleged to have been taken by Bishop Anandaraj from them runs to a few crores, Christian Today has confirmed.

Molin Mission, a part of the International Full Gospel Church of God in India, has 750 gospel churches in India. The website of the organization reveals that Molin Mission had over 10 diverse social service wings alongside its religious activities. Future projects envisaged by the organisation include a Molin Mission Kingdom, a Super–Specialty Charity General Hospital in South India.

The housing project which finally got the better of the bishop was named New Life Shelters. This project envisioned as many as 25,000 houses for the downtrodden in South India. Construction of a Bible College and libraries in every district was also envisaged. In Tamil Nadu, the organisation was headquartered at Perur in Kancheepuram district.

According to the complainants, the housing project became a non–starter and when the contractors sought a refund of the EMD money, the bishop failed to respond and later absconded. The bishop’s wife Daisy Anandaraj has also been named by the contractors as a co–accused.

The SP said he has forwarded the complaints to the Mahabalipuram DSP for necessary action. Steps were being initiated by the police to examine bank accounts and the bishop's other immovable assets, to freeze the same eventually.

Complaints have come from many districts and all the cases would be dealt with commonly, he said.