Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
India

Multi-crore rupees scam: Punjab cops nab fugitive Mumbai fraudster's dad from Gujarat

Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Dec, 2023 05:37 PM
  • Multi-crore rupees scam: Punjab cops nab fugitive Mumbai fraudster's dad from Gujarat

Chandigarh/Mumbai, Dec 6 (IANS) In a fresh twist, the Punjab Police have arrested Shailesh Mehta – the father of absconding Mumbai scamsters Ashesh Mehta and his wife Shivangi Lad-Mehta – in a new fraud case registered by the SAS Nagar Police, an official said on Wednesday.

According to Sohana Police (formerly, Mohali) official Mukesh Sinha, the accused Shailesh Mehta, 71, was nabbed from his purported hideout at an old-age home in Ahmedabad following a FIR registered after a complaint lodged by Punjab businessman Viresh Singhal.

"We have arrested the accused (Shailesh Mehta) last Saturday and brought him to Punjab. A local Magistrate has remanded him to police custody for four days and further investigations are on," Sinha told IANS.

Incidentally, the Mehta family is now under the radar of the police of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and now Punjab, with the possibility of more complaints of cheating of investors surfacing from other parts of the country, official sources in Mumbai said.

Singhal, 78, had lodged a complaint of cheating against Shailesh Mehta and his son Ashesh Mehta (who is untraceable along with his wife Shivangi, since over six months from Mumbai), by luring him to invest Rs 1.20 crore in their 'Bliss Consultants Trading Co' in the past three years, on the promise of huge profits.

However, when Singhal wanted to exit from the company last June, he encountered serious problems withdrawing his investments plus profits, and later the accused were not available.

Suspecting something fishy, Singhal finally lodged a complaint with Sohana Police in November, which sent a team to Mumbai for probe but returned empty-handed, and subsequently traced the accused in Ahmedabad.

Ruling Shiv Sena Spokesperson Krishna Hegde said in Mumbai that the Mehtas' (above) company has allegedly cheated more than 4,000 gullible investors of thousands of crores of rupees in the past few years, and then Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta fled from Mumbai.

"I had complained to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in July and he ordered a detailed probe into the matter. In September, the Mumbai Police have frozen five residential properties and 11 bank accounts of the fugitive couple and their companies, totalling an estimated Rs 175 crore," Hegde told IANS.

He rued that though the Mumbai Police seemed to have done nothing in the matter, the Punjab Police has managed to nab one of the family members of the accused Mehta couple.

The lid blew off the scam – which was prominently highlighted by IANS in June-July – after suspicious withdrawals-transfers of huge amounts of around Rs 180 crore to multiple accounts of the scamster couple's associates or other entities, all of which are being probed. The Shivpuri Police Station in Madhya Pradesh, stumbled onto the scam they were probing a narcotics case there linked with the Mehta couple, and other frauds of money-laundering, illegal ponzi schemes, gypping investors and common masses tumbled out, estimated to be over Rs 1,000-crore.

Police teams from Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab have done multiple rounds of the Mehta couple's home in a posh society in Goregaon where they were last seen over six months ago.

In July, both Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh Police had issued Look Out Circulars against the couple but they remain untraced and investigators apprehend the duo may have sneaked out of the country to an unknown location.

MORE India ARTICLES

Three-year exemption to industry from shifting out of residential areas in Ludhiana: Mann

Three-year exemption to industry from shifting out of residential areas in Ludhiana: Mann
Addressing a gathering of industrialists here, the Chief Minister said the focal points and industrial zones are in a dilapidated condition, which is hampering the development of industries. He said this will be soon overcome by ensuring comprehensive development of the focal points and industrial areas. Mann said a detailed blueprint has been prepared to facilitate the industrialists and give a facelift to the focal points.

Three-year exemption to industry from shifting out of residential areas in Ludhiana: Mann

SC Collegium recommends appointment of 11 permanent judges in Punjab & Haryana HC

SC Collegium recommends appointment of 11 permanent judges in Punjab & Haryana HC
The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, has recommended the appointment of 11 additional judges of the Punjab & Haryana High Court as permanent judges. On May 20, the Collegium of the Punjab & Haryana Court unanimously forwarded its recommendation naming Justices Nidhi Gupta, Sanjay Vashisth, Tribhuvan Dahiya, Namit Kumar, Harkesh Manuja, Aman Chaudhary, Naresh Singh, Harsh Bunger, Jagmohan Bansal, Deepak Manchanda, and Alok Jain.

SC Collegium recommends appointment of 11 permanent judges in Punjab & Haryana HC

Buddha Dhamma and the G20 Delhi Declaration

Buddha Dhamma and the G20 Delhi Declaration
At the G20 Summit, this message reflected India's commitment to Buddha's principles of compassion, peace and universal well-being. By intertwining these ancient ideals with contemporary global challenges, Modi underscored the imperative for nations to collaborate and prioritise the welfare of all, echoing Buddha's timeless wisdom that harmony and happiness are found in the well-being of humanity.

Buddha Dhamma and the G20 Delhi Declaration

Man arrested at Hyderabad airport with gold worth Rs 38 lakhs

Man arrested at Hyderabad airport with gold worth Rs 38 lakhs
Customs officials at the Hyderabad airport have arrested a man for allegedly smuggling 636 grams of gold valued at Rs 38.62 lakhs. A senior Customs official stated that the accused was arrested based on profiling after he arrived from Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Man arrested at Hyderabad airport with gold worth Rs 38 lakhs

Bilkis Bano case: SC says it has to examine if convicts were given preferential treatment in remission

Bilkis Bano case: SC says it has to examine if convicts were given preferential treatment in remission
The Supreme Court on Thursday said that it will be required to examine if remission applications of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case were given any preferential treatment by the Gujarat government. A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan remarked that there are some convicts who are “more privileged” as usually cases are filed against denial of early release. 

Bilkis Bano case: SC says it has to examine if convicts were given preferential treatment in remission

Mann dedicates Punjab's 1st 'School of Eminence' to people

Mann dedicates Punjab's 1st 'School of Eminence' to people
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday dedicated the first 'School of Eminence' to the people of state. "Punjab is witnessing a major revolution in field of education and this school is a stepping stone for it," said the Chief Ministers. 

Mann dedicates Punjab's 1st 'School of Eminence' to people