Thane police book firm’s partners for duping 200 investors

Thane EOW has charged Ekdant Housing partners with defrauding 200 investors of over ₹100 crore, potentially reaching ₹300 crore in total.

Thane: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Thane Police has registered a case against the partners of real estate firm Ekdant Housing for allegedly defrauding approximately 200 investors. While the initial complaint cites a fraud of over ₹100 crore, the police suspect the amount could reach ₹300 crore.

Thane police book firm’s partners for duping 200 investors

The accused, identified as Hasmukh Surji Shah and Ashok Visanji Pasad, were booked following a complaint filed by Girish Amrutlal Dedia, an investor who claimed he was defrauded, at the Naupada Police Station on November 14.

Both accused were booked for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and fraudulent default by a financial establishment under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act.

According to the police, Dedia, who owns a proprietorship firm named Anchor Products, had known one of the accused, Pasad, since the 1990s and frequently invested surplus funds through him. In September 2016, acting on the accused’s advice, Dedia invested ₹8 lakh in Ekdant Housing.

The firm initially paid the complainant a regular interest rate of 1.5% per month until 2018, but subsequently stopped making payments, police said. When Dedia questioned the accused, they allegedly cited poor financial conditions and expressed their inability to return the principal amount. Upon further investigation, Dedia discovered that the accused had allegedly defaulted on payments to nearly 200 other investors.

On November 15, the EOW conducted raids at the firm’s office in Vishnunagar and Hasmukh Shah’s residence in Naupada. During the search, the police seized incriminating documents and hard disks related to the crime, officials said.

According to the EOW officials, Hasmukh Shah is a repeat offender. Two previous cases involving charges of criminal breach of trust, assault, and intimidation have already been registered against him at the Naupada police station, and charge sheets have been filed in those matters.

Parag Manere, deputy commissioner of police, EOW and Cyber Cell, Thane police, told HT, “Primary investigations reveal that the accused promised allotment of flats to some investors and high interest rates to others. They used to collect money from investors and lend it to real estate developers at higher rates. There are more than 200 investors who have likely been cheated out of approximately ₹300 crore. We are currently investigating to determine the exact number of victims and the total amount cheated by them.”