Fraud came to light when a businessman complained to cops that cheques worth R2.5 cr he had received from them had bounced; family had defaulted on dues of three banks
A man and his two sons have swindled banks and a businessman to the tune of R200 crore. The cheats were unmasked when a timber businessman filed a complaint with the Santacruz police, after cheques he had received from the man had bounced.
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Navinchandra Hegde and his sons, Sobin and Samarth, have defaulted on dues worth more than R200 crore.
According to the complainant Subhash Jain (51), the three men were identified as Navinchandra Hegde and his two sons, Sobin and Samarth. The three are directors of the company Octamac Engineering Ltd and Sentinel Rolling Shutters & Engineering Co Pvt Ltd.
Jain, who has a shop on Tilak Road, Santacruz (West), stated in his complaint filed in April this year that Hegde approached him and asked for material worth R2.5 crore. Hegde had already done business in smaller quantities with Jain a few times in the past, and payments had come on time, in order to win his confidence. Hegde then told Jain he had many building projects, for which he needed timber and other material in a larger quantity.
Hegde gave many cheques as payment for the consignment received. When the first of the cheques bounced, Hegde told the businessman to try the other cheques. “Since there was no money in his account, all the cheques bounced,” Jain said. Hegde then stopped receiving phone calls. and when Jain went to his office, the accused’s sons allegedly threatened him.
Big cheats
Jain then filed a police complaint on April 25, 2014, following which police launched an investigation. They found out that the trio had defaulted on their dues of State Bank of India, Indian Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. Including Jain’s R2.5 crore, the total amount worked out to be more than Rs 200 crore.
The banks had even issued notices in public interest in various newspapers, warning people not to do business with any of the two companies or deal with him for the immovable property that had been defaulted on by Hegde and his sons. The property in question is a piece of land and a building in Marol Industrial Estate, Andheri-Kurla Road.
Police then registered an FIR on September 12. “We have filed an FIR against the three men for cheating under sections 420 and 34 of the IPC,” said P Chavan, senior police inspector of Santacruz police station. The trio applied for, and was successful in procuring, anticipatory bail till November 17.
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