Hyderabad: A government teacher in Telangana’s Suryapet allegedly duped people of Rs 12 crore in a chit fund scam and fled.
Following the incident, victims staged a protest outside the accused’s residence on Sunday, September 27, demanding justice. They approached the police, seeking a refund.
The accussed, Banoth Raju, a resident of Enaganti Thanda under Lakshminayak Thanda in Chivvemla mandal, is working at a school in Shettigudem of Atmakur (S) mandal.
Raju had reportedly been operating chit funds for at least 10 years. According to the victims, he gained their trust by promising returns higher than bank interest and also operated a daily-collection finance business for traders in Suryapet and surrounding areas.
In a video shared online, Phoolaamma, a victim, said, “Banoth Raju collected Rs 20 lakh from me in the name of a chit fund, and when I asked for the returns, he avoided me, saying he had to construct a house in his village.”
‘Raju had earned trust by conducting transactions regularly’
The victims alleged that he collected large amounts of money from several people and subsequently disappeared. Farmers, teachers, police personnel, workers, relatives and close acquaintances are among those who allegedly lost money in the transactions.
According to another victim, Raju acted as an intermediary in obtaining a Rs 1.50 crore personal loan from a bank and another Rs 50 lakh loan from a finance company for a government teacher. The victim alleged that Raju took the entire amount after promising to pay returns higher than the bank interest.
Other victims similarly alleged that Raju arranged loans in their names and subsequently took possession of the money.
The victims said that Raju had been conducting financial transactions with them regularly and had earned their trust. However, their suspicions were raised after his phone numbers were suddenly switched off.
When they went to his residence, they reportedly found the house locked. The victims said that none of his family members had been seen for around 10 days, leading them to suspect that they had been cheated.
They subsequently approached Suryapet Superitendent of Police Narasimha and lodged a complaint.
Several victims broke down, saying they had lost their hard-earned savings and were left in severe distress.
Based on the complaint, Chivvemla Sub Inspector Mahesh launched an investigation.
