BENGALURU: A family of four involved in a chit fund business have been booked for allegedly cheating 1,001 people to the tune of Rs 47 crore and investing the same in benami properties. Two of them, however, have obtained anticipatory bail.
Muralidhara, superintendent in the office of the Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, II Division, Bengaluru District, recently filed a complaint with the Indiranagar police against Managing Director P K Chandrashekar Babu, his brother Director P K Ravi Kumar, Vaishak Babu (son of Chandrashekar Babu) and Vanitha Babu (wife of Chandrashekar Babu) of Indiranagar Chit and Funds Trading Company Private Ltd.
According to the FIR, the accused have been running the business violating rules since January 2015. They have cheated 1,001 gullible customers to the tune of Rs 47.87 crore by not returning their money for the last three years.
It is also alleged that the accused allegedly invested siphoned off money in benami properties and instead of paying the investors selected through lottery, convinced the chit holders to invest back the money in the company as a deposit for interest and as loan promising interest. People, who believed it, later realised that they had been cheated as the cheques given to them bounced due to lack of funds. Several cases have been registered against the company.
Meanwhile, Vaishak and Vanitha moved court seeking anticipatory bail claiming they have been falsely implicated in the case and they are neither directors nor partners in the firm. In counter, the public prosecutor filed objections that a case has been registered against them under Section 420 of IPC and Section 76 of the Chit Funds Act and they are absconding.
“The investigation is under progress. If petitioners are released on bail, they may tamper with prosecution witnesses and abscond from the proceedings. Hence, their bail pleas should be rejected,” the public prosecutor pleaded.
Judge Suvarna K Mirji, III Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, granted anticipatory bail imposing conditions that they have to execute a personal bond for Rs 1 lakh, mark their attendance in Indiranagar police station on 1st of every month, cooperate with the investigating officer, should not tamper witnesses and should not indulge in committing similar offences.