Couple behind Rslb Bengaluru chit fund scam disappears

Records show around 1,300 clients were lured by high returns

- BY STEPHEN N. R.

In a real-life con caper straight out of Phir Hera Pheri — with shades of Bunty Aur Babli— a Kerala-origin couple has allegedly duped hundreds in Bengaluru, vanishing after running a Rs1 billion chit fund scam that promised sky-high returns and delivered heartbreak instead.

Identified as Tomy A. Varghese and Shini Tomy, the duo operated A&A Chits and Finance, based in Ramamurthy Nagar, promising unusually high returns of 15-20 per cent — luring trusting families and retirees with claims of secure, RBI-backed schemes.

Their story eerily echoes the Bollywood classic Phir Hera Pheri, where characters fall prey to a scam promising to double money in 21 days — only to lose everything. For many Bengaluru investors, fiction has become reality.

Shattered trust