IMA jewels scam: Beggar invested savings of Rs 1 lakh

BENGALURU: Shameem Syed, 77, appeared distraught as she filed a police complaint on Tuesday against IMA Group. She had reason to be as she had invested her entire savings of Rs 1 lakh in the firm in October 2018, thrilled with the assurance that she would get Rs 2,000 per month as returns.
Shameem, a homeless woman who begs for her livelihood, said she was paid promptly every month until February this year when the company stopped payment, claiming they had an issue with the management.
“I was happy receiving Rs 2,000 per month as it helped me buy food,” Shameem told TOI. “I never believed they would cheat me. I’m are poor and have no other means of income. Inshallah, I will get back my investment, or else I will die.”
Shameem lived in KG Halli until her husband Syed, a daily wage worker, died of an illness four years ago. The couple was childless and after her husband’s death, Shameem moved to Shivajinagar. She lived on the pavements of Shivaji Road, seeking alms and using the public toilet in Shivajinagar bus stand for bathing and other purposes. Later, she moved to Nehrupuram. During the day, she begs near mosques and at night, she takes shelter in the porticos of school or prayer halls.
Born and brought up near a village near Hoskote, Shameem moved to the city with her parents at an early age. “I don’t remember the name of my village,” she said. “I know that we lived near Hoskote. I was around seven years when my father moved to the city. We lived in makeshift sheds on Old Madras road.”
Asked how she learnt about IMA Group, Shameem said, “I heard about this company from some men at a mosque. By then, I had saved Rs 1 lakh from the alms I received. I kept the cash with an aged homemaker in Nehrupuram. With the help of a man from Nehrupuram, I visited this office and invested the money. Now, the Almighty only has to get it back for me.”