KURNOOL: N Kesava Reddy, chairman of the Kesava Reddy Group of Educational Institutions, was arrested by the Central Crime Station police on Thursday on the charges of cheating parents after collecting refundable deposits to the tune of Rs 547 crore from them promising free education to their children.
Kesava Reddy allegedly mobilised refundable deposits from parents offering free education to their children till they leave the school. The police seized a car and key documents from his possession. According to district SP A Ravi Krishna, Kesava Reddy who has educational institutions in both AP and Telangana collected refundable deposits from parents ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per student offering free education upto class X.
He collected Rs 547 crore from 11,000 students who studied at various branches located at 40 places in both states. After taking the deposit amount, he issued promissory notes to the parents as surety and promised to repay the amount when the children leave the school but did not repay even after the children completed SSC.
Some children who left the school without studying up to 10th class were also not refunded their deposits. Hundreds of parents of the school children who realised that they were taken for a ride approached the police and complained against Kesava Reddy.
The police registered cases against him under various sections of the AP Protection of Depositors and Financial Establishment Act 1999 and also for cheating.
CCS Deputy Superintendent of Police G Husen Peera and his staff arrested Kesava Reddy on Thursday while he was on his way to Hyderabad from Kurnool in his car at Pullur toll plaza on national highway No: 44.
The CCS police seized his vehicle and some important documents and bonds from his possession. They produced him in the court which sent him in remand for 14 days in Kurnool sub-jail. The police later filed a petition seeking his custody for interrogation, CCS DSP Husen Peera said.
SP Ravi Krishna said the police have already identified Kesava Reddy’s properties and efforts would be made to make him repay the deposits to parents.