PATHANAMTHITTA: The promoter of Tharayil Finance, a private finance company, which is alleged to have duped 18 investors of a total of Rs 2.5 crore, has surrendered to police on Wednesday.
Saji Sam, 56, surrendered before the Pathanamthitta police station around noon. Saji, a native of Omallur in Pathanamthitta, had been on the run since last Saturday after the depositors filed complaints with the police stating that the NBFC had failed to return the money deposited.
Founded in 1992, Tharayil Finance has garnered deposits of Rs 44 crore in Pathanamthitta and Omallur, police said. Tharayil Finance also has branches in Kollam district, which would take its deposit base to at least Rs 100 crore, the police said.
Inspector of police Pathanamthitta K V Bineesh Lal said the police have registered 18 cases from last Friday to date against Saji of Tharayil Finance as per the IPC Section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
“He told us that he suffered losses. So he went absconding after the incident came to the light. As per the complaints we received on Friday, we have registered a cheating case of around Rs 2.5 crore against the accused. We will begin questioning him after completing his medical check-up. A detailed investigation is on into the incident. He will be produced before the court later,” Bineesh said.
This is the second NBFC in Pathanamthitta that has duped a large number of investors in recent times. Popular Finance, another Pathanamthitta-based NBFC founded by T K Daniel in 1965, went belly up last year. The company had over Rs 1,000 crore worth of deposits from hundreds of investors.