Victims include house help, auto drivers, tailors and those with modest incomes; while 4 have been booked, extent of the fraud could be bigger
Accused Bapu Zambre, Harshad Parad and Avinash Salve
At least 60 residents of Mulund Colony could not resist the lure of easy money and ended up losing about Rs 1.5 crore. While the police have booked four persons for cheating the victims, including househelps, auto drivers, tailors and people with modest incomes, with schemes promising handsome profits, the extent of the scam is believed to be much bigger.
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Victim Archana Shelar had put Rs 6.5 lakh in the schemes floated by the accused
The cops began their investigation on Thursday following a complaint by Ashok Ingole, a contractor, who said locals Avinash Salve and Bapu Zambre had told him about starting a ‘Vijeta Lucky Draw’ in their neighbourhood in September 2017.
The lottery included the participation of 130 people, each contributing Rs 1,000. They said the lucky draw would run for 30 months and one person would get Rs 30,000 every month. At the end of 30 months, each of the remaining 100 people were to get Rs 33,000. Within a month, Salve and Zambre launched another scheme that assured the doubling of money in a year's time.
Ashok Ingole who went to the police on February 25, prompting the alleged fraudsters to flee. Pics/Rajesh Gupta
“As the lucky draw became a hit in the neighbourhood, I trusted them and invested Rs 90,000 and they returned Rs 1.80 lakh. So from November 2018 to February 2019, I invested Rs 36.3 lakh,” Ingole told mid-day. “I had borrowed money from my friends and relatives, and assured them I would give a good profit for the same.”
Meanwhile, Salve and Zambre brought Harshad Parad and Pradeep Upadhyay on board and started a company named ‘MSOI Online Services Pvt Ltd’, which claimed to be dealing in electronic goods. The company was open for investment promising 10-fold returns in 6 months. Ingole invested Rs 77,500 in it. He and a few others got returns till April 2019 until their dreams started to crumble.
Accused Pradeep Upadhyay
Salve and Zambre kept giving excuses for not being able to pay up. Then they bought more time citing the COVID pandemic. They fled the area after Ingole approached the cops on Thursday, prompting scores of victims to make a beeline to the police station. Archana Shelar, a widow, had invested her life's savings of Rs 6.5 lakh in the schemes. “Initially, I was getting returns but suddenly the money stopped. I had mortgaged my gold ornaments and borrowed money on interest, but now everything has gone," she said.
Reena Gupta lost Rs 2 lakh that she had saved for her future, while Ruby Khan, who does tailoring work in the locality, was duped of Rs 85,000. “Sixty investors have come forward so far claiming fraud of Rs 1.59 crore by 4 accused. The invested amount by the individuals ranges from Rs 8,000 to Rs 36 lakh,” said an officer from Mulund police station.
Rajendra Patil, president of local organisation Janseva Paryavaran Rakshak, said he had been trying to persuade the investors to call the police since April 2019. “The number of victims can go beyond 60 as more are yet to record their statements. Cops have to act fast to nab these culprits else crores of rupees will be lost forever,” he said.
The police said Zambre was working for one Harun Sheikh, who was booked by Bhandup cops in 2020 for defrauding hundreds of residents of R10 crore. Salve earlier was as a driver, while Parad worked as an acrylic board maker. The accused have been booked under the IPC and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) act 1999.
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