Roopnagar Station House Officer Parampal Singh said a case under Section 406 420 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against S. Ramanathan, proprietor of the said company, on the complaint of Satya Devi, a local resident and one of the hundreds allegedly duped by the company.

Search parties have been dispatched to various destinations, but no arrests have been made so far, the SHO said. Interestingly, when people came to know about the disappearance of the proprietor this morning, they broke into the Company's showroom at SCF 19 in Giani Zail Singh Nagar here and decamped with the articles lying inside. The police, on reaching the site, dispersed the mob. Some of the duped persons, while talking to The Indian Express, said the company had been functioning here since the past about 20 days and had launched three different schemes, under which 20, 40 and 60 per cent discounts were given to investors on different household articles including electronics, furniture, steel utensils etc. The company promised delivery of these articles after 5, 10 and 15 days, respectively, of the date of payment by the investor.

It may be recalled that the Punjab government had recently announced its decision to proceed against the chit-fund companies that did not get themselves registered. The step was taken to protect the interest of the people who invest in such companies.

In a notification sent to all the district headquarters, the state government had categorically stated that as per the chit fund Act and rules framed by the government, no chit-fund could be commenced or conducted in the state without previous sanction of the state government.