The Central police on Thursday arrested a man who was accused of cheating several persons of crores of rupees by promising franchises of a supermarket.
Vipin V.S., 38, of Balaramapuram in Thiruvananthapuram was nabbed from his hideout in Bengaluru. The accused and co-accomplices, including his wife, had allegedly cheated people by issuing media advertisements offering franchises of a supermarket to be opened by a Kochi-based company. Around 150 people from across the State had collectively lost around ₹22 crore.
The accused promised to hand over fully furnished and staffed franchises with a daily return of ₹5,000 for 600 days and share half of the profits thereafter. The victims lodged complaints after the accused failed to issue franchises within the time frame as promised despite having paid the cash in full. Following this, the accused had gone into hiding.
So far, the Central police have registered nine cases with complaints received from 125 people.
