Kolkata trader alleges demat account fraud

KOLKATA: A 32-year-old resident of the Girish Park area has alleged that some people used details of his PAN Card and other documents to open a demat account without his knowledge and carried out illegal transactions for which he was fined Rs 2.81 lakh by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The police have started an investigation on the complaint.
The complainant claimed in his complained to the detective department at Lalbazar police headquarters on Tuesday that the miscreants had been operating since 2017.
According to the complainant, he wasn’t even aware of the operations of the demat account (opened to deal in shares) till he received a letter from SEBI, demanding a penalty of Rs 2.81 lakh. This sum was subsequently deducted from his bank account to which the demat account was linked. He suspects that the miscreants may have carried out high-value transactions, some of which may not have been overboard.
"We have registered a case under IPC sections 120B, 420, 467 and 471 of the IPC. The anti-fraud and cyber cells will look into the matter. We shall also check the background of the complainant to find out whatever he is saying is correct," a senior police officer said.
While the complainant wasn’t willing to speak to the media on the subject, a stock market expert said that SEBI imposed penalties when people continue to trade in shares of companies that are under surveillance or there is something abnormal in the transactions. "He should have immediately contacted the police and SEBI after receiving the notice," he said.