Private chit fund operators dupe 45 investors of ₹16 crore in Hyderabad | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: A 38-year-old private employee from KPHB Colony has approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Cyberabad police, alleging that he and 44 others were duped of about ₹16 crore by the operators of a private chit fund scheme, V Ramana Reddy, his wife Sita and their family member Harisha Reddy.The fraud came to light when investors found the accused’s house at HMT Hills, Addagutta, locked and their phones switched off. Based on the complaint, EOW registered a criminal case.The complainant, G Venkateshwar Rao, said he knew the main accused, V Ramana Reddy of HMT Hills, for about a decade through common friends. “Reddy told me that his wife, V Sita and daughter, Harisha Reddy, ran a chit business from their residence in HMT Hills, KPHB Colony, and asked me to invest,” the complainant alleged.Trusting Reddy, Venkateshwar joined two chit groups of ₹10 lakh each in April 2025 and paid ₹12.7 lakh over a period of 16 months through cash and bank transfers. “I was also persuaded to deposit Rs 50 lakh on a promise of 2% monthly interest, but the amount was not repaid,” the complainant alleged.When Venkateshwar recently visited the house of the accused to pay his instalment, he found the premises locked. “Enquiries revealed that the family had left without informing the investors or making any arrangements for repayments. The trio collected around ₹16 crore from about 44 members since August 2024 and duped all of us,” the complainant alleged.On the complaint of the victim, EOW registered a case on Sept 19 under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) read with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 5 of the Telangana Protection of Depositors’ Interest (Financial Establishments) Act.“While one victim went to EOW, few other victims have approached us with similar allegations. We have registered a case and arrested the main accused Ramana Reddy four days ago. He is now in judicial remand. His wife and daughter are absconding. We have transferred our case to EOW,” KPHB ACP E Ravi Kiran Reddy said.