The city police broke open the office of the Vijaya Krishna chit fund office at Kothapet here on Saturday and conducted searches for documents and other information regarding the depositors' accounts.
The search was conducted after the chit fund office remained closed for several days even as the depositors turned panicky and complained to the Two Town Police about the vanishing of the proprietors.
Initially, five depositors lodged a complaint, but the number increased to 73 on Friday with the police expecting many more complaints. During the searches, the police could find just a few documents relating to deposits and there was no furniture. Freezer, TV, almirahs, cots, and such material were already taken away, indicating that the proprietors had planned the whole thing much in advance. The police registered a case of cheating under Section 420 after the depositors complained that the chit fund proprietors were not repaying them even after the maturity of their deposits. Kothapet CI S. Prasada Rao said they would go ahead with the available evidence and conduct the investigation from all angles. The property of the accused proprietors would be seized and attached in due course of time, he added.
