HC grants bail to jeweller accused of duping 1,507 investors of ₹70.55 cr

Jeweller Shrikumar Shankaran Pillai granted bail by Bombay HC after allegedly duping 1,507 investors of ₹70.55 crore; offered properties as security.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to jeweller Shrikumar Shankaran Pillai, who was arrested for allegedly duping 1,507 investors of his various schemes to the tune of ₹70.55 crore.

The Bombay high court. (HT File Photo)

A single judge bench of Justice NJ Jamadar granted bail to Pillai, mainly considering that the 69-year-old had been in jail for over 21 months and the investigation was complete and charge-sheet filed. Besides, the judge also considered that he had offered two of his immovable properties as security – to secure the interests of the duped investors.

“As the applicant has been released on bail in rest of the crimes and the personal attributes, like age and health conditions, are such that further detention of the applicant may not be warranted,” said the judge while ordering his release on furnishing a personal bond of ₹2 lakh and one or two sureties in the same amount.

The FIR in the case was registered at Mahatma Phule police station in Kalyan for duping several investors of crores of rupees. Pillai’s firm, M/s S Kumar Gold and Diamond, had an outlet at Bail Bazar in Kalyan which offered several investment schemes like Monthly Chit Fund Scheme, Fixed Deposit Scheme, and Special Gold Savings Scheme.

The fraud came to light in October 2021, when the outlet was abruptly shut. On inquiry, Gavit realised that the jeweller had duped several people like her, and the outlets of the jeweller at other places had also been shut.

Investigation into the case, which was subsequently handed over to the Economic Offences Wing of the Thane police, revealed that the jeweller had duped at least 1,507 investors to the tune of ₹70.55 Crore. Pillai had, however, disputed this, and claimed that it was the total amount involved in all the cases against him.

FIRs were also registered against Pillai at Mulund, Nayanagar, Goregaon, and LT Marg Police stations in Mumbai. In August 2022, the LT Marg Police seized ₹2.9 crore in cash from Pillai’s second-hand BMW car while arresting him in the case registered with them. The case was based on complaints lodged by at least 11 wholesale gold and diamond traders from Zaveri Bazar. He is accused of duping the 11 wholesalers to the tune of ₹4.22 crore by accepting gold jewellery from them without paying them.