K N Srinivasa, former priest of a Saturn temple in South Bangalore, shattered the dreams of over 20,000 people by swindling nearly Rs 300 crore from them
BANGALORE: K N Srinivasa turned into a moneylender to fulfill his dream of helping people. Instead, the former priest of a Saturn temple in South Bangalore shattered the dreams of over 20,000 people by swindling nearly Rs 300 crore from them.
Vini Vinc Foundation Inc, a string of eight private finance firms started by Srinivasa, who was popular as Shastry went bust in July leaving depositors in lurch in one of the biggest finance scams in the city for over a decade.
The incident also brought back memories of the 1990’s when several finance firms offering high interest rates of nearly 40 per cent per annum – notoriously known as blade companies – duped investors of crores of rupees.
The scam had raised a furore in the Karnataka assembly when opposition members accused the government of turning a blind eye on the activities of Vini Vinc and demanded a CoD inquiry into the scam. A front company, Vini Vinc Sauharda Cooperative Bank, was used for luring deposits from the public with a promise to offer higher interest rates than offered by other finance firms and banks.
Srinivasa has gone underground since July and is yet to be caught. But on Wednesday, the police made headway by nabbing Lokesh, his trusted lieutenant who was traced to his hideout in Guwahati. Lokesh had rented a house in the Assam capital early this month. A joint team of Bangalore and Assam police also recovered Rs 12 lakh in cash and a laptop from Lokesh They also seized Rs two crore in cash stashed with his associates at various locations in the city. Lokesh is the eighth director of Vini Vinc taken into custody. Police have also conducted raids on several associates and recovered incriminating documents from them.
The police has registered complaints from 9200 people in Karnataka who cumulatively have reported that they lost Rs 103 crore in Vini Vinc. But there are many who are hesitant to come out in the open.
“The main accused is still absconding. We will nab him soon. Property worth Rs 8 crore has been seized so far,” Police Commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh said. However, Lokesh denied any knowledge of where Srinivasa is hiding.
Srinivasa, who ran a chit fund joined hands with Lokesh to start Vini Vinc in May 2003, and later expanded the business to a travel and matrimonial services.
The police said Srinivasa had gained trust of people as he was a priest in the Saturn temple. The interest rate of 12 per cent per annum at a time when bank interest rates were falling was a bait, many depositors couldn’t resist. Srinivasa is reported to have invested the money in real estate and had started construction of an engineering college on the outskirts of the city.
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