"Anubhav is another CRB in the making. Over 80,000 depositors are being affected by the crisis," said the chief of a Chennai-based non-banking finance company.

Natesan surrendered to the police on Friday evening after being intractable for many days. He will be produced before a magistrate on Saturday for remand, said assistant commissioner (crime branch) V Raghavan. He was absconding following numerous defaults to depositors.

Anubhav group was one of the pioneers in plantation schemes, which mushroomed in late eighties and early nineties. Its flagship company, Anubhav Plantations, was constrained in its ability to raise additional funds from banks and financialinstitutions following compulsory rating introduced for plantation companies by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Anubhav Plantations got an `unsatifactory' rating from Duff & Phelps, ironically, the highest rating for any plantation company.

On Wednesday many depositors, who went to the group's offices to collect their deposit amount after maturity, found the doors locked and lodged complaints with police. Among those who lodged complaint included a former union deputy finance minister, Magan Bhai Barot, who claimed that he had invested Rs 25 lakh in the company.

Crime branch assistant commissioner said so far 70 complaints had been received and more were pouring in. Late on Thursday, Natesan said in a statement that the group had assets worth Rs 189 crore and liabilities were only about Rs 28 crore and appealed to depositors not to panic. He also assured them that their claims will be settled in due course. The company had no intention to cheat the depositors, he said.

Credit-rating agencyDuff and Phelps Credit Rating India on Thursday downgraded the Teak Farm Scheme of Anubhav Plantations from `unsatisfactory' (DCR Ind 4-CIS) to high risk (DCR Ind 5-CIS) grade.

A DCR Ind 5 (CIS) rating indicates the company's ability to meet its stated obligations to investors on time is poor and that the scheme has defaulted or can be expected to default.

A DCR released on Thursday said: "Although press reports indicate that the management is exploring options of mobilising resources from various sources, efforts by DCR India officials to establish contact with Anubhav personnel for clarifications have been unsuccessful." The arrest of the Anubhav MD draws curtain to the controversy.

Industry analysts said the Anubhav fiasco is merely the tip of the iceberg of the crisis that is likely to engulf all plantation companies. "It is now mandatory for all plantation companies to get themselves rated. However, none have been able to get the investment grade so far which is impacting their deposit takingcapacity. The bubble has to burst sooner or later," a senior analyst said.