Mumbai crime: Tech firm cheated out of Rs 40 lakh

The director has been arrested and presented before the court. Representation pic

The Sakinaka police have arrested the director and booked the managing director of Shotformat Digital Production Pvt Ltd in connection with an insurance scam. According to sources, the case involves allegations of cheating and duping Proservz DigiTech Pvt Ltd by promising an insurance policy but not delivering, resulting in a loss of Rs 40 lakh for the company.

The complaint, filed by Ashok Yadav, director of Proservz DigiTech Pvt Ltd, led to the registration of an FIR at Sakinaka police station on September 4. Last week, the police arrested Samarth Sen Gupta, director of Shotformat Digital Production Pvt Ltd, after serving a notice to Niyateey Shah, another director of the company.

In the FIR, Yadav claimed to have paid Rs 37 lakh to Shotformat Digital Production for insurance services, but the company allegedly failed to provide any insurance services or refund the money. Yadav, who deals in electronic gadgets, buys and sells mobile phones and laptops in bulk quantities. Speaking to mid-day, Yadav said, "Shotformat Digital Private Limited worked as a broker in the IT sector.

We used to purchase insurance for the gadgets we sold to our clients through them. Between June 2021 and August 2022, we paid around Rs 37 lakh to Shotformat for insuring approximately 459 electronic gadgets, including iPhones and laptops. When claims started coming in, and we sought approval from Shotformat, they began delaying the process. We ended up covering the repair costs for many clients, amounting to around Rs 3 lakh."

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He added, "Suspecting foul play, we inquired in the market and discovered that the company had deceived others like us. Despite numerous email reminders, the accused neither refunded our money nor provided the promised insurance services. Realising that we had been cheated, we filed a complaint with the police."

An officer from Sakinaka police station stated, "We launched an investigation and conducted a raid at Shotformat's office premises in Express Tower, Malad East." "During the investigation, Niyateey Shah was detained for questioning and later released with a notice. Following Shah's interrogation, the police arrested Samrat Sen Gupta. Gupta has been arrested and presented before the court, where he was remanded to police custody," another officer confirmed.

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No of gadgets firm insured through company