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Seven directors of a Vadodara-based finance firm, which was allegedly shut down overnight, have been booked by the Vadodara police for allegedly duping customers of Rs 21 lakh.
According to complainant Jyotiben Soni (35), who also worked as an agent with e firm, its registered office in Sayajigunj has remained closed for over a week and the seven accused are on the run with their phones switched off.
Soni stated that she was introduced to three of the accused — Suratbhai Rawal, Dilipkumar Lori and Deepak Ghimire — through one of her tenants in March 2018. The three had introduced themselves as the directors of a company ‘Hamaro Nidhi Limited’ and approached her to work as an agent. The firm invited clients to open accounts with them, issued passbooks and offered hefty interest on the deposited amounts, the police said.
Apart from her salary, Soni — who was handling 114 clients by herself — was paid seven percent commission for every deposit a client made. Of these, six of her clients had active accounts with the firm, including one of her family members. A total of Rs 21,26,710 was deposited by the six clients. Meanwhile, the firm had deputed over 10 such agents.
According to a pamphlet circulated by the firm among its agents, the other directors named as accused in the case have been identified as Tulsiben Rawal, Manojkumar Kori, Aahadevi Kori and Manojkumar Patel. Based on the complaint, the accused have been booked under IPC sections 420 (Cheating), 406 (Criminal breach of trust) and 114 (Abettor present).
“We have received a complaint from one of the agents. We are questioning the other agents, too, to estimate the total amount which was deposited in the firm. The company was registered but now the owners are not available. We have formed teams and are trying to nab the accused in the case,” said Investigating Officer SG Solanki.