BENGALURU: A city civil and sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail petition of S Arun Kumar, co-director of Geeklurn Institute, who has been accused of allegedly cheating 1,800 students by raising a loan of Rs 48 crore in their names from banks.
Passing the order, LXII Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge A Eranna said, “Considering the gravity and seriousness of the offence, this court is of the view that the petitioner is not entitled to anticipatory bail. I am of the view that there are no reasonable and sufficient grounds which warrant this court to enlarge the petitioner on anticipatory bail at this stage.”
Claiming that there is no mention of his involvement in the complaint, the accused contended that he was in no way connected to the business run by the firm. He only submitted Income tax returns and collected the fees, he claimed.
The public prosecutor objected that the investigation has revealed that the petitioner is not only a chartered accountant, but also a co-director of the firm. The investigation report revealed that the petitioner helped to open bank accounts and filed the application as a co-applicant. He is involved in the firm’s financial transactions and crores of rupees were transferred from different banks to the firm’s account. The case is under investigation. If he is released on bail, he may abscond, the public prosecutor argued.
Referring to the complaint, the public prosecutor also argued that after obtaining the loan from banks in the students’ name, the firm did not give them the amount. In all, the firm obtained a loan of Rs 48 crore from banks in the name of more than 1,800 students. In this regard, more than 90 persons have lodged complaints, the prosecutor told the court.
According to the FIR, Geeklurn Institute lured students through advertisements stating that they provide a Data Science programme through a social media platform at zero cost EMI and that there is a facility to repay the amount after their placement. The EMI will be paid in the form of a scholarship to the account of the students.