THRISSUR: Praveen Rana, the owner of Safe and Strong chits, who was arrested in the investment fraud case of around Rs 150 crores, have exceptional verbal communication skills. He could even make people believe blatant lies. Praveen Rana used this ability to make people deposit crores of money into his account.

He had said that he had secured the registration number ‘1’ for his Jeep Wrangler Rubicon car after defeating industrialist Yusuff Ali. This car was used to convince the people that he is a top businessman. He had spent Rs 6.5 lakh to get the number ‘1’ for this car.

Thousand rupees and a hard disk

Bank accounts of Praveen Rana (37) are empty. When arrested, only one thousand rupees, cash, six hard disks and a laptop were found. The police are looking for the whereabouts of the looted crores.

The police believe that the hard disk contains crucial information about Rana’s financial transactions. 31 cases have been registered against him. Rana was charged with fraud and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme (BUDS) Act.

Luxury villas worth crores in Kodaikanal

As per Praveen Rana’s statement to the police, he had lent Rs 16 crore to his friend Shaukat. He also said that he had 50 cents of land in Palakkad. Police have found fraud worth Rs 150 crore in their preliminary investigation. But the police suspect that he has deposited the stolen money safely in many places. They have received clear information in this regard. He also owns two luxury villas in Kodaikanal, besides keeping crores of rupees in cash in some places. The police also believe that Rana withdrew the money from the account anticipating the possibility of being caught.