Hyderabad: Tension prevailed in Srirangapuram village of Kodad town in Suryapet district on Tuesday, June 2, after villagers alleged that a real estate businessman cheated them of nearly Rs 11 crore by luring them with promises of high returns on their investments.
Speaking to Siasat.com, an official from Kodad Town Police Station said that real estate businessman Irigilla Jitendra Reddy had persuaded around 45-50 people to invest Rs 7 crore with him, assuring them of attractive interest rates and timely repayment of the principal amount.
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Trusting his assurances, the villagers reportedly handed over large sums of money over a period of time. However, the businessman allegedly stopped paying interest payments and failed to return the principal amounts as promised.
On May 13, he sent out legal notices that he would only be able to pay them around Rs 9 crore instead of the Rs 11 crore that he owed, along with interest. The villagers, on the other hand, claimed that Reddy was not revealing all the property owned by him and that he actually had the means to pay back the full Rs 11 crore.
Though the discussions on the issue had been going on for nearly a month, the villagers finally lost their patience when Reddy bought two plots in his sister’s name on June 1, the police said.
Demanding immediate repayment, a large group of villagers staged a protest in front of the businessman’s residence, prompting the police to intervene and disperse the crowd.
“We asked the villagers to approach the civil court and have decided to register a cheating case,” the officer said.
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