Praveen Rana, the owner of Safe and Strong Chitti, who was arrested from a hide-out in Tamil Nadu will be produced in court after medical examination. The prime accused in the investment fraud case of Rs 150 crore in Kerala was arrested from a hut in a granite quarry in Devarayapuram near Coimbatore on Wednesday night.
A team from Kerala Police led by Inspector P. Lal Kumar of Thrissur East Station reached the spot on tracing the mobile phone location of persons close to him, surrounded the hut and arrested Rana.
The prime accused was at large for some time after the local police registered cases and began investigation against him based on the complaints of several people whom he had duped of crores of rupees which they deposited in his investment firm based in Thrissur. It is alleged that Rana cheated more than 200 investors by offering 48 percent interest and more than 150 crore rupees had been reportedly embezzled from investors.
A senior police officer confirmed that he was taken into custody from a hide-out near Coimbatore in the neighbouring state. However, he rejected local media reports that the accused was disguised as a pilgrim when he was caught. "Rana's arrest is recorded. Over 30 cases were against him in various police stations in the district," the officer told PTI.
He was not ready to divulge more details when asked about reports that the accused claimed to be a 'pauper' now as there is apparently no money in his bank accounts. Further information can be revealed only after a detailed interrogation, the officer added.
At the same time, Praveen Rana responded to the media that he did not cheat anyone. "Everyone will be refunded. There will be ups and downs in business. I was staying away to get bail," Rana told the media while being taken for medical examination.
However, Rana was not ready to give a precise answer to the media's question that there was no money in his bank accounts.
It is reported that police have not been able to recover money from Praveen Rana as his bank accounts were found empty. The police have checked seven accounts of Rana but there was no money in those accounts. According to some reports the money was handed over to friends as benami.