According to PI J D Jhala, the company, which has its headquarters in Lucknow, had been operating in the city for the last three years. He said that three people who had deposited Rs 41,070 a year ago had lodged the complaint.

Pravinbhai Devchandbhai, one of the complainants, said that when he went to claim his money on maturity of the policy he found the company office closed. According to Jhala, the company office was closed three days ago and the managers' whereabouts were not known.

The number of people who had opened their accounts with the company and the total amount deposited are unknown, according to Jhala. He said that the company had several agents through whom it collected money from small investors depositing Rs 10 or more on a daily basis.

None of these agents who mobilised people to deposit their hard earned money in a non-banking organisation have so far been arrested, said Jhala, adding that investigations were on.