Couple held for cheating depositors in chit fund business

Police yet to determine the precise amount they collected

Girinagar police have arrested a couple who duped people in a chit fund business and escaped with their money.

Jnanesh (46), a cab driver, and his homemaker wife Leelavathi (42) reside in the Dattatreyanagar area of Girinagar. The couple was arrested early Monday morning following cheating complaints from more than 100 victims, a senior officer said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the couple received deposits from 106 people in their chit fund company for several years promising high returns. They later fled the area and were hiding at a relative’s house in the city outskirts.

The couple had returned to the area to sell their house with a plan to leave the city once the sale was done.

The residents of the area tried to contact them for nearly two months, but they had switched off their mobile phones. But the victims managed to trace them and informed the police, who arrested them.

The precise amount they collected is yet to be ascertained.

The couple has been remanded to judicial custody and further investigations are on, police said.