THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the state police constituted a special investigation team of Crime Branch to probe the Nirmal Chit Fund fraud case, the 1,000-odd investors - allegedly duped by the chit fund firm - blamed the Kerala Police for its alleged apathy in registering an FIR against the accused.
Though the Crime Branch team had asked the investors to appear on Tuesday at the Government Guest House at Parassala with their bank passbooks and hand-written request for evidence collection, a number of them accused the police for delaying the investigation. As part of their protest, the investors will stage a blockade on the national highway at Parassala on Wednesday.
“The police are not bothered in the least about our concerns,” said M Gopalakrishnan, president of the action council formed by the investors.“We want a transparent team for the probe. Now, it is learnt the team announced is not so transparent and their probe is going at a snail’s pace. A major chunk of investors is from Kerala. Surprisingly, the state police have not registered a FIR even after we filed a complaint with the DGP. Hence, we have decided to protest and demand a new probe team by blocking the road on Wednesday.”
However, Crime Branch officers refuted the allegations. They said the investigation is on the right track. Sources said the investigation team has contacted the Tamil Nadu Economic Offences Wing to hand over the details of the FIR registered. “We have received the FIR copy from the Tamil Nadu police. An inquiry is on and we will collect the statement from the investors on Tuesday. Subsequently, we will register a FIR,” said an investigating officer. IG (Crimes) S Sreejith is leading the investigation.
Insolvency petition posted on September 25
Meanwhile, the insolvency petition filed by the key accused of the case, Nirmalan Krishnan Nair before the Thiruvananthapuram sub court has been posted for hearing on September 25. Nair and the other members of the director board are absconding.
TN Police extend probe
The Tamil Nadu Economic Offences Wing has started search operations in the border region after reports emerged about spotting some of the accused in the case there. A police team will also head to Kerala as Nirmalan might have fled to his home state. The two staffers, who were taken into custody by the police, have been taken to an undisclosed location in Kanyakumari district for interrogation. Sources from Tamil Nadu Police said they have not arrested the staffers yet.
Nirmal Krishna Chit Fund company, a finance firm which functioned in Palukal in Tamil Nadu, close to Kerala border, had allegedly duped over 13,600 investors from Kerala and Tamil Nadu who had deposited over Rs 500 crore under various investment schemes on the promise of good returns.
Among them were several people hailing from Parassala, Vellarada and Kunnathukal areas bordering Tamil Nadu. The cheating came to light after the office failed to reopen after the Onam break.
The firm had registered the mortgaged properties in the names of the accused. The police said around 16 people went absconding.
The firm had collected deposits to the tune of several crores from various persons, including businessmen and politicians, in Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram districts. The company is said to have a strong presence in areas such as the Chalai market here. It used to offer returns at the rate of Rs 1,400 per month for a deposit of Rs 1 lakh. Nirmal Krishna Nidhi Ltd also used to prompt the investors to convert the monthly payment from the deposit as chit payment so the amount could be retained by the firm.
Considering the seriousness of the case, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan came to Palukal and talked with the investors. He said the investigation was on to trace the accused and the police are doing a good job.