Over 1.5 lakh women beneficiaries remitted ₹417.5 crore to the accounts of Ananthu Krishnan, the prime accused in the half-price scam, according to the investigation report filed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch Central Unit - 2, Ernakulam. The findings of the report were furnished in the HC order which rejected the bail plea of K N Anand Kumar who has also been arrested in connection with the case.

The court noted that going by the documents produced along with the investigation report, Anand Kumar has active involvement in the case. The public prosecutor submitted that Anand Kumar was an accused in several cases and custodial interrogation was necessary. The police have reported that Anand Kumar participated in several functions organised by Ananthu Krishnan in connection with the advertisement and publicity of the half-price scheme. According to the police, Ananthu Krishnan has not obtained any CSR fund and funds from NGOs. The court noted that if Anand Kumar is innocent as he claimed, it was surprising to see that he went with Ananthu Krishnan in several functions to get beneficiaries for the half-price scheme where there was no iota of material to show that Ananthu Krishnan obtained any CSR fund.

The police stated in the report that 56,082 beneficiaries remitted ₹23.24 crore for getting sewing machines at half the rate, out of which several beneficiaries did not receive sewing machines. Similarly, 36,981 beneficiaries remitted ₹92.22 crore for laptops and several of them did not get it. In the case of home appliances, about 10,300 beneficiaries paid ₹20.60, but no one got any home appliances. About 48523 beneficiaries remitted ₹281.43 crore towards the account of Ananthu Krishnan and his consultancy accounts for scooters. Out of the above beneficiaries, several of them did not get the two-wheelers and the amount deposited.

This is a big financial scam in Kerala, the court observed. The prosecution said that the root cause of the half-price scam was Anand Kumar's promise. Ananthu Krishnan and Anand Kumar, often speak about the execution of half-price projects through the CSR fund and funds from various NGOs. Therefore, they intentionally contacted the political leaders of leading political parties, Ministers, and religious authorities, the prosecution said. The investigating officer submitted that Anand Kumar was the key factor and influencer.

The transaction details received from State Bank of India, Sasthamangalam Branch in the account of Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust owned and managed by Anand Kumar showed 21 transactions of ₹60,000 and five transactions of ₹56,000 for the the period from April 6, 2024 to April 9, 2024 (three days). All these deposits were by women. The Investigating Officer suspects that the amount is for the half-price for scooters ('women on wheels') programme.

"Every transaction conducted for scooters was received as ₹60,000 for 125CC and ₹56,000 for 110CC. Therefore, the 21 transactions for ₹60,000 and five transactions for ₹56,000 in the account of Sathya Sai Orphanage Trust are also suspected for the half-price scooter scheme. If that’s true, the Sathya Sai Trust also collected huge amounts directly from the beneficiaries for the above scheme, the police reported. The Investigating Officer submitted that there was a need for a detailed probe.