Mumbai: Amboli police booked a couple for allegedly duping a businessman to the tune of Rs5.5 crore on the pretext of investing in a media channel. The accused couple had presented forged documents showing profits seeking investments to launch a spiritual television channel, Aanandam.
Parallel investigations by Mumbai police, crime branch and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) are on. In 2015, the accused couple, Amit and Himakshi Sinha, introduced themselves as the co-founders of a media company ‘Amazing India Television Private Limited’ to the complainant, Prasanna Prabhu (48) at a media conference.
While talking to Prabhu, the Sinhas mentioned they were launching a spiritual television channel Aanandam, by the end of 2016. In a business proposition presented to Prabhu, the Sinhas showed promising profits to be earned in their venture. After this initial meeting, the complainant showed keen interest in the idea and was followed by several personal interactions at mutual friends’ parties.
The accused couple then persuaded Prabhu by showing forged documents of their ‘company’, Amazing India Television Pvt Ltd. After much persuasion, the businessman gave in and invested Rs5.5 crore in the company to earn profits, said police. However, what followed in the next couple of months was a pattern of calls going unanswered and messages being ignored.
Prabhu said, “Whenever I called Amit Sinha to know the status of the channel, he dodged the question, claiming the work is underway and the company is still looking for more investors. Finally, after three years when I saw no hope of getting my money back, I approached police and registered a complaint against the couple.”
Amboli police booked Amit and Himakshi Sinha under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating (section 420), forgery for purpose of cheating (section 468) and conspiracy (section 120B) earlier this month. The police are yet to verify the allegations levelled against the Sinhas by Prabhu and have summoned the accused couple to record the statement. Mumbai crime branch and EOW are conducting a parallel probe, said a police officer.