SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: Private chit fund operators duped as many as 45 investors of Rs 16 crore in Cyberabad Police limits since April 2024.
The complainant, a private employee, approached the Economic Offences Wing of the Cyberabad police and filed a complaint stating that V Ramana Reddy, his wife Sita, and their family member Harisha Reddy operated the chit fund.
The fraud came to light when investors found the accused’s house at HMT Hills, Addagutta, locked and their phones switched off.
Based on the complaint, the EOW registered a criminal case. The complainant, G Venkateshwar Rao, said he had known the accused, Ramana, for the past 10 years through common friends. The complainant told the police that Reddy informed him of the chit fund operated by Sita and Harisha and persuaded him to invest.
Believing Reddy, the complainant joined two chit fund groups of Rs 10 lakh each in April 2025. Rao invested Rs 12.5 lakh over a period of 16 months. The fraudsters persuaded him to deposit Rs 50 lakh on a promise of 2 per cent monthly interest, but the amount was not repaid.
When Rao recently visited the house of the accused to pay his instalment, he found the premises locked.
Upon inquiry, the investors were informed that the family had left without informing the victims or making any arrangements for repayments.
“The fraudsters collected around Rs 16 crore from about 44 members since August 2024 and duped all of us,” the complainant alleged.
On the complaint of the victim, EOW registered a case on September 19 under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) read with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors’ Interest (Financial Establishments) Act.
SOURCE : SIASAT
