No arrests yet in case in which many small scale bizmen, traders, hawkers have lost Rs 2.94 crore
This picture has been used for representational purpose
The proprietor of Shree Sai Laxmi Cooperative Credit Society, Jackiesh Radhakrishna Poojari, and others associated with him have been booked by the police in the multi-crore Ponzi scam in which hundreds of investors including small scale businessmen and traders of south Mumbai were duped.
mid-day had on December 2 published how over 500 investors of a South Mumbai-based company – Shree Sai Laxmi Cooperative Credit Society – were left in the lurch by Poojari, who shut his office last month.
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The FIR has been registered under sections of the IPC and of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act on Saturday. However, no arrest has been made as the accused has gone underground.
The complainant, Hinduram Parmar, told mid-day that details of 93 investors have been highlighted in the FIR and more than 50 such victims have approached him with their grievances. According to the FIR, the collective amount that people were cheated of, is over Rs 2.94 crore. All the investors run their businesses in South Mumbai. Most of them are small-scale businessmen while others are hawkers and fruit sellers, who have lost savings of up to Rs 20,000. "Most of the victims are extremely poor," Parmar said.
Also Read: South Mumbai traders duped in multi-crore ponzi scam
Complaints to EOW, police
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and MRA Marg police were simultaneously given the complaint by investors on November 11. "The files moved very slowly as our statements were recorded but the senior police officials delayed the registration of FIR. This paved the way for the accused to escape," said Parmar.
"The bank accounts of Poojari and his associates have been identified and very soon these will be sealed. We have also identified the company's associated properties and all the legal procedures will be duly followed in this case," said a senior police officer attached to MRA Marg police station.
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