Bantwal: Police and public jointly brought a fraud, who cheated people in the name of chit fund and escaped with more than Rs 5 crore, to Vittal police station on Friday. People who lost their money gathered in front of the police station and urged for the refund of their money.

Anand of Vokketthur, Vittal is the arrested person. He was running a chit fund business in Vittal, Vokkethur, Mangalapadav and other nearby rural areas.  He was running chit fund starting from Rs 1.20 lakh to 6.5 lakh.

Anand’s wife Kishori had filed a complaint in police station on August 31 saying that her husband has been kidnapped and kidnappers are demanding Rs 8 lakh as ransom. Based in the complaint police indentified Anand at Surathkal and and filed case on Ganesh and Rajiv for abducting him.

Now the local people, who had invested their money are urging for the refund. Nearly 200 families have invested more than Rs 5 crore in Anand’s fraudulent chit fund.

When people asked for refund in the past, he escaped giving reason of his health and admitted in a private hospital at Mangaluru. Then he went missing from the hospital and no one could find him. Many people tried to find him, but they couldn’t succeed in their efforts.

People who have lost their money also filed a complaint at Vittal police station and Vittal SI Prakash Devadiga has promised to file a case against him.