Thrissur: The accused in the multi-crore investment fraud case Praveen Rana is absconding and might have fled the state, the police said.

The cops have intensified searches for him in cities like Pune and Bengaluru, given the possibility of his business friends offering him help there.

A lookout notice may be issued against him soon, with the cops receiving hints that the Thrissur-based businessman is attempting to fly out of the country.

As per the initial police assessment, the accused might have received at least Rs 100 crore in investment, as he collected Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh from several individual depositors after promising them up to 48 per cent interest.

Praveen Rana (K P Praveen), a native of Veluthur, Arimpur, in Thrissur, is the Chairman and Managing Director of ‘Safe and Strong’ investment firm. Praveen, who has an MBA degree after Engineering, set up the firm seven years ago as a business consultancy and chit-fund company before he started collecting deposits by promising high returns.

The accused collected over Rs 100 crore in investment in no time. The victims came to know about the fraud when he failed to return their money, and they resorted to legal recourse. He has 18 cases against his name at Thrissur East and West police stations. According to the police, Praveen has business, cinema, political and criminal connections in many cities.

Though searches were conducted at many parts of Kochi on the basis of information that he was in the city, the cops failed to get any lead. Also, there were hints that the accused might try to get anticipatory bail, but is yet to approach the court.