Fake pension scheme: T.N. gang of six held for ‘cheating’ over 3,000 people

Fake currency notes with a face value of ₹44.02 lakh seized

The Chittoor Urban Police on Friday arrested six members of an inter-State gang hailing from Vellore in Tamil Nadu on charges of cheating over 3,000 people and collecting several crores of rupees from them after luring them with a life-long pension scheme on deposit of smaller amounts. The police also seized fake currency notes with a face value of ₹44.02 lakh from the accused.

Addressing the media here, Deputy SP (Law and Order) N. Sudhakar Reddy said that one Vijayabhanu from Vellore, along with her gang-members, had floated a trust named after Mother Theresa in the recent years in Vellore and Katpati.

“The gang would lure people with a life-long pension scheme for which their clients had to make a minimum of onetime deposit of ₹5,000 each to avail of ₹1,000 pension per month. Seeing their scheme working, the gang had started operating in Gudipala mandal of Chittoor district, close to the Tamil Nadu border. To gain the confidence, the gang also started paying pensions to some people for a few months. The gang had allegedly collected amounts from ₹5,000 to ₹1 lakh each from more than 3,000 people including those in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Reddy said.

Sometimes, the gang would deliberately delay the payments which prompted some clients to approach the police. “Showing the clients wades of fake currency notes, the gang would claim that the money for pension distribution is ready, but it requires sanction at several levels. Seeing the currency notes, the gullible people would deposit additional amounts expecting more pension,” the Deputy SP said.

A women, who had paid ₹1.05 lakh to the trust approached the Gudipala police recently and DIG S. Senthil Kumar formed a special party to probe the complaint. Meanwhile, more complaints started pouring in.

After a thorough investigation, the special party arrested six members of the gang including kingpin Vijayabhanu and her main accomplice Milton, and four others on the outskirts of Chittoor when the gang members were crossing the inter-State border.

Mr. Sudhakar Reddy said that a search was on to nab four more members of the gang. He appealed to the people who fell prey to this gang to share more details with the police.