Mumbai: ‘Someone with political links trying to destroy Goregaon couple’

Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), probing the Bliss Consultancy case that led to the arrest of its proprietors Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta, has discovered a pattern where the couple appears to be framed by another entity. The details mirror a previous false drug case in Madhya Pradesh, wherein the Indore police found the couple innocent.

Currently, the EOW is probing the involvement of a suspicious entity named Denron Rea IT Trade Pvt Ltd, a trading company. The company falsely claimed that Bliss Consultancy owed them Rs 200 crore. The claim had resulted in a bank and the EOW freezing their accounts.

On the other hand, some investors claim that Mehta has been trapped by entities having political links and seeking to destroy him financially.

The Mehta couple has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against the ghost company, Denron Rea, in 2023. The court issued summons to all its directors but none have responded to it so far. According to EOW sources, a hearing in the case is scheduled for next week.

‘Repaid investors'

Ashesh has stated to the police that he never deceived investors but fell victim to a false drug case. "He said he returned over R170 crore to panicking investors and intended to repay others. However, ongoing investigations and legal challenges hindered the process. Mehta assured us that he would settle the remaining R80 crore, affecting only 20-25 investors among the 4,000 who collectively invested around Rs 400 crore. Mehta emphasised that he did not deceive anyone," an EOW officer told mid-day.

The remaining investors have been forced to wait for their funds because of the fake arbitration submitted to the bank by Denron Rea. The bank, having frozen Ashesh's account, has taken action against Denron Rea for presenting false arbitration.

An EOW officer told mid-day, "Upon scrutiny, it's evident that Denron Rea submitted counterfeit documents. The arbitrator's signature on the arbitration belongs to someone who died in 2020, while the arbitration was supposedly made in November 2022."

Mehta in his writ petition before the Bombay High Court claimed that he got to know about the arbitration in June 2023, that he never met an arbitrator in Pune, and that he got to know about the order passed by the district judge in Pune via WhatsApp. His petition claimed that Denron Rea misused the judicial process to make illegal gains.

The Mehtas suspect that Denron Rea is somehow responsible for the fake drug case in Madhya Pradesh and with the EOW. The couple thinks that this was done to distract them by inducing panic among investors and acquiring the money through fraudulent arbitrations.

The police have discovered that Denron Rea rented land in Khed, Pune, merely to establish its existence. It was also revealed that during the arbitration, a dummy Ashesh Mehta was presented in Pune, while Ashesh himself had no connection with the process. "The high court has taken cognisance and summoned Denron Rea's directors. We will proceed as per the court's directives," an officer told mid-day.

‘Suspicious claims'

Harshad Ganatra, who had invested in Bliss Consultancy, told mid-day, "Why is the EOW, income-tax department, or high court not taking decisive action against Denron, which claims to have paid R200 crore cash to Bliss Consultancy? Isn't it peculiar that Denron made such a substantial cash payment, even if its claim is legitimate? Denron has a nominal share capital of R1 lakh and a total profit of around R13 lakh in the past eight years. Yet it made such a significant transaction. The police should scrutinise the source of these funds, and Denron's bank accounts should be examined to verify this transaction. Unfortunately, no authority seems to pay attention to this aspect."

Ganatra added, "Mehta is being trapped by entities backed by politicians having vested interests."

Another investor said, "It is unrealistic that with a profit of just R2.25 lakh in FY 2019-20 and a bank balance of R10 lakh on March 31, 2020, Denron invested R200 crore, to be returned over three months with an interest of 15 per cent. According to Denron's claims, the couple's failure to repay would result in it getting all of their money in the bank. Moreover, based on a bogus power of attorney and vakalatnama, arbitration proceedings were concluded in June 2023 in Denron's favour at a session court in Khed, Pune, which the Mehtas were not even aware of. They also became accused in an NDPS case in Madhya Pradesh which made them unavailable to defend themselves in the arbitration case. These events seem extremely suspicious."

Mehtas' lawyer says

"The documents submitted before the Pune district court by Denron are neither signed by my clients nor were they aware of any arbitration by Denron. Denron has created an absolutely bogus arbitration proceeding to falsely prosecute my clients and siphon the money of investors. Not just my clients, but the courts of Maharashtra were defrauded too. According to our enquiry, the said company has cheated another company in Delhi similarly. Taking a serious view of the matter, the high court has summoned the directors of Denron on the next date of hearing," said the couple's lawyer, Hemant Ingle.