Odisha court sentences man to 7 years in jail for duping investors

The man claimed that he was running Indian versions of WhatsApp, YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, digital gaming and digital payment platforms

Published on: Dec 23, 2023, 21:21:22 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A court in Odisha on Saturday sentenced a man to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment on charges of duping hundreds of investors in Odisha by claiming that he was running Indian versions of WhatsApp, YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, digital gaming and digital payment platforms.

The court of Odisha Protection of Interest of Depositors in Balasore district sentenced Prince Kumar alias Shiv Narayan Singh of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur to 7 years of imprisonment and penalty of ₹3.33 lakh for duping hundreds of investors of around Rs.1.5 crore (in Odisha alone) by giving false assurances of high returns under its different schemes involving various digital/online products. The court sentenced Prince Kumar under sections 406/ 420/467/468/471/120-B of IPC, Sec.66 of IT Act, Sec. 4/5/6 of Prize Chits & Money Circulation Scheme (Banning) Act & Section 6 of Odisha Protection of Interests of Depositors Act. In the event of non-payment of penalty, he would have to undergo one more years of imprisonment.

“When Covid pandemic struck India in March 2020, Prince Kumar who was director of Digital Revolution Technologies Limited, conducted meetings in districts of Balasore and Bhadrak, distributed brochures to convince the gullible investors that his company wishes to strengthen India through digital platforms and information technologies. His company claimed to operate Shopsubkuch (E-commerce site), mobile payment platform MYPay, video streaming platform MyTube world, video sharing platform Vidscop, messaging platform Chitthi and online gaming platform GoGame11,” said inspector general of police of economic offences wing (EoW), Jai Narayan Pankaj.

The company advertised its business as “Your Own Digital Revolution Marketing” through which one can earn huge income in a very short period from home by using the mobile applications of this company. It used popular slogans such as “Ghar baithe hi desh ka digital use kar ke shandar income le sakte ho”.

Prince Kumar gave false assurances to the investors that investment amount would be double within one year although the company had no real business activity to generate returns. EOW officials said the deposits collected by Prince Kumar under the cover of Direct Digital Marketing was nothing but an elaborate Ponzi scheme.

“The business model of Digital Revolution Technologies Limited is a simple pyramid structure in which the early entrants earn money and as the number of investors/depositors increases, finding more investors to join becomes difficult or impossible and the scheme collapses at a point of time. Investors who joined late do not earn enough to cover their first outlay.

Pankaj added that it was the first ever conviction in online/ digital Ponzi cases in Odisha and one of the firsts in India.

EOW officials said the total invested money would be far higher as the victims are spread in Maharashtra, Bihar, UP and Delhi,

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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