ED Raids Ragam Theatre in Kerala’s Rs 300 Crore Bharat Lajna Co-operative Society Fraud Case:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a Rs 300 crore financial fraud case involving the Bharat Lajna Multi-State Housing Co-operative Society (BLM) in Kerala. In connection with the same fraud, the ED had conducted raids at multiple locations in BLM including Ragam Theatre in Thrissur, Kerala.

The aforementioned theatre was previously known as Geogettan's Ragam. Recently, it was taken over by BLM. These raids were carried out amid allegations of large-scale diversion of funds collected from depositors by the multi-state co-operative society.

The allegations claimed that the theatre under the society's control was pledged to a financial institution; however, the proceeds in crores were not transferred to the accounts of the society.

The investigation disclosed that the disputed society had collected about Rs 300 crore from ordinary investors using fraudulent deposit schemes. However, complainants claim that the actual extent of the fraud can be much higher than this.

The Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch previously submitted a report before the Kerala High Court, which reflected that the funds assembled with the help of the society were allegedly diverted by its founder, R. Premkumar, for his personal use and that of his relatives.