New chit fund scam surfaces after cops rescue 12 confined agents

In a major breakthrough, the police unearthed a chit fund racket after rescuing 12 people of different states from a hotel at Jagatdal in North 24-Parganas on Thursday.

Police said Pratik Chakraborty, the owner of the chit fund group Youcons Infoted Limited, was arrested and was remanded in judicial custody after he was produced before the court.

A police officer said that initially, they had received an information that someone had confined 10 to 12 persons in a hotel off Kalyani Highway. A large contingent of police went to the spot and gheraoed the hotel.

Going inside the hotel, the policemen found 12 persons from different states kept confined in a room. Pratik was in another room.

Further investigation revealed that Pratik had engaged them as agents of his chit fund group and all of them had collected lakhs of rupees through various chit fund schemes.

But he didn't return the money. He chalked out a plan when the agents from different states started putting pressure on him to return the money with a high rate of interest, as assured by Pratik like owners of all other chit fund groups.

Pratik told them that he would be holding a seminar for the promotion of the chit fund group in a hotel at Jagatdal and asked them to attend the seminar. He had also assured them of returning all their money. He started confining one after another when they came.

Some local people had informed the police after knowing about it when an employee of the hotel was discussing it in a nearby tea stall. Subsequently, the police conducted a raid in the hotel and arrested Pratik.

The police are also helping the people to return to their states. Each of them lodged complaints against Pratik with the police.