The investors who lost their money in Thrissur financial fraud involving Padma Shri awardee Sunder Menon were promised returns at 12 per cent interest. Many of the clients of the beleaguered institution which is now under probe were small scale traders and retired government employees.

The complainants and investors arrived at Heewans Head Office at Chakkamukku when KPCC Secretary C S Srinivasan, who was recently arrested in connection with the case, was brought for evidence collection on Saturday.

The police took action following a complaint that Rs 17 crore was not returned to the investors. C S Srinivasan, the KPCC Secretary and a former Thrissur Corporation councillor, was known to the public as a representative. The investors said the fact that Sunder Menon was the chairman and Srinivasan was the director of the company increased public trust in the institution.

''Interest payments were made regularly in the initial years, but when we invested more money, both interest and principal payments ceased,'' said Jayarajan, one of the investors. Retired state government employees Babu and Jayarajan shared similar experiences of investing their retirement benefits in Heewans Finance due to the initial interest payments.

Although the Thrissur West Police received 18 complaints, unofficial reports indicate that over 500 people lost money. An investor mentioned that she lost Rs 35 lakh but was afraid to file a complaint.

She invested the income from a hostel she owned in Heewans Finance and now faces a situation where she cannot even pay for her ailing husband's treatment. Fear of reprisal is preventing us from filing complaints with the police, they said.

Heewans Finance accepted even small investments through a recurring deposit scheme and offered 13 per cent interest on fixed deposits of more than three years, compared to the usual 12 per cent. The regular interest payments initially received led investors to reinvest their returns, aggravating their losses.

The promise was to return the investments after five years, but when this was not honored, some investors came forward with complaints. The investors claim that the scale of the fraud exceeds the Rs 17 crore mentioned by the police and are demanding that their lost money be recovered through a court ruling.