The first breakthrough in the Rs 300-crore investment fraud by the owner and office-bearers of Ashtavinayak Investment came on Monday when the Economic Offences’ Wing of the city police arrested the firm’s finance manager Prasad Shinde, direct sales agent Ajay Khadse who facilitated the loans, and Nitin Shinde, a freelancer who was the connector between banks and the company.
A team led by assistant commissioner of police (EOW) Appasaheb Shewale and assistant inspector Mayur Vairagkar made the arrests.
“We verified their roles in the fraud. The finance manager lured the techies to invest and take personal loans to fund the investment. The other two facilitated the process for the loans. A further probe is on and more people will be arrested,” Shewale said.
The owner, who is still untraceable, has duped over 250 software engineers collectively of Rs 300 crore by taking their money and assuring them of high returns.
The victims have been going through a rough time. A 46-year-old software engineer jumped off the terrace of an 11-storey building in Kharadi and died last Wednesday.
Police start counselling victims, tell banks to go slow on recovery process
The investment firm’s owner had promised to pay the EMIs of the personal loans the techies took from banks and financial institutions to invest in his schemes. The Economic Offences Wing of the Pune Police registered a case on March 17 against him with the Bund Garden police.
He had invested Rs 91.4 lakh in Astavinayak Investment firm after taking loans from six banks and financial institutions. Their recovery agents were harassing him, the Chandannagar police said. A case of abetment to suicide against the owner and the three arrested individuals was registered on Friday. Shewale told TOI that the police have started counselling sessions for the victims and have told the banks and financial institutions to go slow on the recovery as most of the victims are under tremendous pressure.
