HYDERABAD: Days after six people linked to QNet died in the Swapnalok Complex fire, engineering graduate Gopal Das Ramu said their deaths could have been avoided if Mahankali police had acted on his earlier complaint against QNet.

Ramu was introduced to QNet by his friend Triveni last year. He paid ?1.5 lakh after she promised him a good future. Later, he realized QNet operated like a pyramid scheme and demanded a refund. When he visited Swapnalok Complex, QNet managers refused to return his money, reported TOI.

He filed a complaint with Mahankali police, saying he was cheated because no one told him he would have to recruit others to earn money. The sub-inspector contacted a man named Shiva, who claimed to be the CEO of QNet and showed some documents. The police officer said he couldn’t take any action.

After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided QNet premises and accused the company of money laundering, Ramu again approached Mahankali police with this information. However, the police did not take any further action.

Ramu believes that if the police had taken his complaint seriously, the six victims of the fire might still be alive. Police said QNet refused to refund his money because the payment was over a month old.

In earlier cases filed by Cyberabad and Hyderabad police, QNet managers got court relief, such as stays or FIRs being quashed. Because of this, Mahankali police are unsure if QNet’s business is legal. Sub-inspector G Rakesh said one complainant had asked for a refund, but the company refused. Since similar FIRs had already been filed, no new case was registered.

Meanwhile, TSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar, who previously took strong action against multi-level marketing (MLM) companies as a police officer, said authorities must monitor and take legal action against such companies to prevent crimes. He firmly stated that QNet is illegal.