A 51-year-old man, M Prabakaran, was arrested by CB-CID police in Bengaluru on Friday for running an investment scam that defrauded several people out of a total of Rs 1.2 crore. Prabakaran, a resident of Gandhi Road, Salem, allegedly started a data entry firm in Erode back in 2002, advertising lucrative returns for those who invested.
The scam involved promising people that if they paid an advance, they could complete data entry tasks and double their investment. Victims, lured by these offers, invested their money, only to later realize they had been deceived. After collecting the funds, Prabakaran went into hiding.
The victims initially filed complaints with the Erode town police, and the case was eventually transferred to the CB-CID. During the investigation, it was revealed that Prabakaran, along with five others—including his wife, Vandarkuzhali (50)—had cheated people out of Rs 1.2 crore. The case had been in court since 2008, but Prabakaran had absconded before appearing for trial, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued against him.
Thanks to a tip-off, CB-CID officials located Prabakaran in Bengaluru, where they arrested him. Following his arrest, he was brought back to Erode, where he was presented before the magistrate and remanded to judicial custody on Saturday.