SC orders Ponzi scheme operator to return Rs 19 crore to investors

Ponzi scheme operator Shekhar Chandrashekhar who along with his livein partner Leena Paul duped over 500 investors from Mumbai to the tune of over Rs 19 crore was granted bail by the Supreme Court last week The court however stated that his bail would be revoked if he fails to refund the investors in the next four months Shekhar had approached the apex court after the Bombay High Court rejected his bail pleaOne of the several highend cars which Shekhar purchased using the money invested by the victims in his Ponzi schemes While granting bail the SC observed ldquoIn terms of the undertaking furnished by the accusedappellant before the court the necessary deposit of the amount stated in the said undertaking shall be made within a period of one month in respect of Rs 35 crore and within three months in respect of Rs 16 crore the remaining amount failing which the bail will stand cancelled without further reference to the courtrdquoNoose securedWhile Shekhar may heave a sigh of relief police sources claimed that he is likely to be taken to Chennai today from Arthur Road Jail They stated that Chennai police have secured a warrant against Shekhar in a previous case in which he jumped bail granted by the Madras High Court in 2014 for his involvement in a similar caseUpon learning about Shekhar managing to secure bail from the apex court Joint Commissioner of Police EOW Dhananjay Kamalakar contacted his counterparts in Chennai last week ensuring that they reached the city in time and take Shekhar into custody before he once again jumps bail following his exit from the jail said sourcesCopspeakCommenting on Shekharrsquos bail officers from the economic offences wing EOW of Mumbai police said that he has nearly 16 cases of fraud registered against him across Tamil Nadu Karnataka and Delhi They also expressed doubts over Shekharrsquos undertaking that he would refund all the investors claiming that he has no property in his name Shedding light on his modus operandi officers claimed that Shekhar changes the city after cheating people every time he is out on bailA senior officer from Arthur Road jail where Shekhar is currently lodged said ldquoHe had no money to spend inside the jail As per norms family friends or relatives can send Rs 2500 every month through money order so that an inmate can buy products from the jailrsquos canteen But Shekhar had no money to buy anything from the canteenrdquoNefarious plotterSources from Mumbai police claimed that before getting himself admitted in Rajawadi hospital Shekhar tried every trick in the book to secure a bed at KEM hospital To avoid spending days behind bars he called doctors at the KEM and pressured them into admitting him at the hospital by posing as a senior Indian Revenue Service IRS officer The tactic worked and Shekhar spent a month at KEM during the second half of 2015 He was shifted back to JJ hospital after EOW officers informed the court about the sameProbe is also underway to find out how Shekhar managed to get himself admitted to Rajawadi from JJ hospital During investigation JJ authorities informed the prisons department that they had never referred him to Rajawadi as theirs is a wellequipped medical facility Bipin Kumar Singh inspector general of police south prisons confirmed that an inquiry is underway to trace the accused who aided Shekhar to shift lsquounlawfullyrsquo to Rajawadi from JJ hospital without a court order Sources also claimed that in 20132014 Shekhar duped a Chennaibased doctor to the tune of Rs 50 lakh under the pretext of getting him a luxurious apartmentCase historyShekhar who is booked under Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors MPID Act was arrested in June 2015 along with eight accomplices including Leena and three kin of Bollywood lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri for operating a fraudulent investment scheme He was accused of luring his victims to invest in Lion Oak India by posing as an MP from Bengaluru Following his arrest EOW seized 11 highend cars such as Maserati Bentley Mercedes Audi and Nissan highend watches jewellery and furniture While Rs 80 lakh was recovered by auctioning the cars the other items fetched Rs 30 lakh