Hyderabad: A man has been arrested by the economic offences wing of Cyberabad police for allegedly scamming people of Rs 2.79 crore through unregistered private chit funds.
The accused has been identified as Appampally Surya Pratap Reddy, a resident of Chanda Nagar.
According to reports, the accused had been operating unregistered monthly chit funds from his home for 14 years earning the trust of residents in Chanda Nagar and neighbouring areas like Miyapur, Kukatpally, and Patancheruvu.
He allegedly offered chit fund schemes in Hyderabad worth Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 25 lakh on a commission basis. Exploiting the faith of subscribers, he collected Rs 2.79 crore and suddenly disappeared after shutting down his operations.
following a complaint filed by one of the victims, Nasar Khan, the police registered a case under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishment Act, 1999.
During the investigation, the officials launched an extensive search and apprehended the accused at Kharmanghat.
On October 16, the Cyberabad Economic Offences Wing (EOW) booked two individuals from Hyderabad for duping people of Rs 20 crore through a chit fund scam.
The prime suspect Seetharamaiah, who reportedly collected nearly Rs 20 crore from 200 victims, mostly residents of Sri Sai Colony in Chintal, Quthbullapur under the guise of running a chit fund has absconded. Victims alleged that for a long time, Seetharamaiah and his son-in-law Murali operated a chit-fund and promised returns on investments.
Hyderabad: Two booked for chit fund scam worth Rs 20 crore
When it was time to repay, the family stopped responding and fled with the money. Most of the victims are daily wage workers who participated in the chit-fund; they are now left in economic distress.
Public advisory
The Cyberabad police have advised the general public to be cautious of private chit funds and to further avoid subscribing to any unregistered companies.
Individuals can report cybercrimes online at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call the 24/7 helpline at 1930 immediately.
