India, June 28 -- By 10.30 am on Friday, around 30 to 40 people - both men and women, some accompanied by their children - gathered near Bund Garden police station holding placards that read: 'Arrest the fraudster now!' The group - among over 250 victims of the two-and-a-half-year-old Rs.300 crore scam allegedly masterminded by Selva Kumar Nadar - had congregated to stage a peaceful protest demanding urgent police action and the long-overdue arrest of Nadar who remains at large.

Half-an-hour later at about 11 am, five or six of these protesters were allowed to meet a senior police officer.

The fraud, which unfolded in 2023, left a devastating trail: over 5,000 bank recovery notices issued to the victims, widespread job loss, and mountin...