More than 200 investors duped of crores
People had invested in a scheme proposed by a Delhi-based company, as the annual returns advertised by the co sounded promising. 40 richest Indians
By Nitasha Natu, TNN |
MUMBAI: Rajesh Bari tries hard to appear calm, but the wrinkles on his forehead give away the anxiety and stress he has been going through. A metal dealer from Bhayandar, Bari was saving to buy a new house when at a friend���s suggestion, he decided to invest the money in a scheme proposed by a Delhi-based company, Kanakdhara. The annual returns advertised by the company sounded promising. Now, nine months and three bank loans later, he has lost nearly Rs 8.75 lakh and his peace of mind.
Bari is just one of over 200 investors from Mumbai who lost their deposits, after promoters of Kanakdhara stopped paying them their returns. Two of the company���s agents, Manoj Oza and Kiran Patil, were arrested by the Oshiwara police last week, but that has been of little comfort to the investors.
���The scheme was promoted so well that it seemed flawless,������ Bari said. ���Initially, Oza used to take meetings at a packed hall in Goregaon (E), with a thousand people in the audience. We were shown cheques of Rs 10 crore which could be earned annually, by making a one-time deposit of Rs 3.5 lakh. The company also had a detailed website and video CDs explaining the scheme.������
Bari applied for personal loans to three banks to invest in this company. He then invested Rs 3.5 lakh each in his wife and brother-in-law���s name with Kanakdhara, for which he was handed a single invoice. After one month, he received a cheque of Rs 24,800. ���This increased my confidence and I made two more deposits of Rs 13,920 each for my daughters in another scheme, which was supposed to generate annual returns of Rs 26.20 lakh,������ Bari said.
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Bari even convinced his creditor to invest money in Kanakdhara. But within months, he realised something was terribly wrong. ���The cheques they gave us started getting dishonoured. When I met Oza, he offered to give 12 post-dated cheques in one go, but that never happened. Gradually, I had to sell my wife���s jewellery and exhausted all the savings that I had made for my house to clear the bank���s loan instalments. The recession has already affected my business and my biggest worry now is how to pay off the remaining loan instalments,������ Bari said.
Malad resident Shashikant Choube says he got carried away by the attractive rewards announced by Kanakdhara. ���Those who brought in more members could win laptops and bikes. I introduced at least 20 people, but got nothing. The agents made flimsy excuses like delay in writing of cheques at the Delhi end of the company or appointment of new staff,������ Choube said.
Some investors like Dinesh Gupta, a Malwani-based chemist, became members of Kanakdhara after well-qualified professionals recommended it.���
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A renowned doctor from our area vouched for the company���s scheme, after studying it, and encouraged residents to take it up. I made small investments in the beginning. When two to three cheques came in steadily, I even urged my relatives to opt for it. Now, the returns have stopped and the doctor himself has lost the money he invested,������ Gupta said. Gupta, Choube and other such disgruntled investors then approached an non-government organisation, Humlog, which helped them file a complaint at Oshiwara police station. The case would soon be transferred to the Economic Offences Wing for further investigation.
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