The Thrissur Crime Branch has tracked down and arrested four key absconding accused in the ₹300 crore Nano Excel fraud case. The arrests were made in Chennai after a week-long manhunt.

The accused in custody are Prashant Sundar Raj, Radha Sundar Raj, Kumari Raj, and Meera Harish. They had gone underground while trial proceedings were underway before the Thrissur Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Court. Non-bailable warrants had already been issued against them.

Originally residents of Hyderabad, the accused moved to Tamil Nadu to evade trial, living in luxury apartments in Chennai. Their months on the run ended when the Crime Branch cornered them in a carefully planned operation. They were produced before the court on Monday morning and remanded.

The operation was led by Thrissur Crime Branch Superintendent T K Subrahmannian IPS under the supervision of the State Crime Branch Chief. The investigation team included Detective Inspector Riyaz Raj, Detective Sub Inspector Thomson Antony, Sub Inspector Lijo, and Assistant Sub Inspector Subeerkumar.

The accused are alleged to have defrauded investors of nearly ₹300 crore, with more than 600 cases registered against them across Kerala, alongside multiple outstanding warrants.

The 2011 scam traces back to Nano Excel Pvt Ltd, a multi-level marketing company that lured investors with promises of high returns from a supposed hydro power project in Arunachal Pradesh, allegedly in collaboration with the state government. Brochures and publicity campaigns claimed the company had signed an MoU to establish a solar and hydro power plant using nano technology. Investors were issued share certificates as proof of investment. Investigators later revealed before the High Court that the project site, Puitgong Nullah in Arunachal Pradesh, was fictitious and the promised power project never existed.

Most complaints originated from Thrissur district, with additional cases reported from Ernakulam, Palakkad, Kottayam, Idukki, and Kozhikode. Earlier, the Crime Branch had filed a chargesheet against 62 accused, including company MD Harish Babu Maddineni and his wife Meera.