Chennai: Deepavali chit fund fraud busted
Accused cheats 6,200 residents of Rs 2 crore.
Chennai: Around 6,200 residents of Guduvanchery lodged a complaint with the Kancheepuram Economic Offence Wing against a 40-year-old man for cheating them of Rs 2 crore.
Rajesh Kumar (40) is a resident of Bhagavathy Nagar, Nandivaram in Guduvanchery. He allegedly cheated 6,200 residents of Rs 2 crores on the pretext of collecting Deepavali chit funds. According to sources, Rajesh has been running a chit fund company named Thirumala chit fund company in the area for over seven years now.
He issued chits worth Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and usually distributed prizes towards the end of September. However, he did not give any prizes even after the start of October this year. When contacted by the residents, he said that there was a shortage in stock and even requested them to wait for a day or
two.
However, when residents visited his house on Thursday they found that he had vacated the place. His phone too was allegedly switched off. Distressed citizens thronged his place on Friday and staged a protest demanding return of their money. Police were then called in to control the situation. Sources said that police advised the residents to lodge a complaint with the Economic Offence Wing following which they visited the Kancheepuram SP office and filed a complaint against Rajesh.
Investigations are progressing.