THRISSUR: K P Praveen aka Praveen Rana who duped investors to the tune of lakhs of rupees was remanded in judicial custody in connection with the cases registered against him in various police stations in the district. Praveen had gone into hiding after people who invested money in his firm approached police with complaints.
An official, who was part of the investigation team, said, “Praveen registered 11 companies in his name, which were used to draw investments from people. He changed his official name K P Praveen to Praveen Rana to build an image as a businessman having considerable clout.
He also managed to get PhD certificates from two fake universities by paying cash. Rs 10 lakh was spent on getting a PhD from a university in Kazakhstan and Rs 5 lakh was given for obtaining another PhD from an institute, Global University. He also tried a hand in politics by floating the Royal India People’s Party.”
Meanwhile responding to the media after the police recorded his arrest, Praveen said that he would return all the money he had taken from investors. “What I did was business,” he said. When asked why he went into hiding if it was not a fraud, Praveen said he had filed an anticipatory bail plea and was waiting for the court order.