Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Court takes on ‘deposit’ firms -Pankaj Sarma

Court takes on ‘deposit’ firms -Pankaj Sarma

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Apr 22, 2013   modified Modified on Apr 22, 2013
-The Telegraph


Guwahati: Gauhati High Court has taken up a suo motu PIL against the Calcutta-based Saradha Group and similar deposit collecting companies for allegedly duping scores of investors in Assam of their hard-earned money.

Official sources said the high court recently took up the PIL (15/2013) after taking cognisance of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) general secretary and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi's letter to Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.

Akhil had alleged that such dubious companies, most of which were operating illegally in the state, did the vanishing trick after collecting thousands of crores of rupees from gullible people. The peasant leader had also named Saradha Group as one of those companies in his letter, which also scathingly criticised the alleged inaction of the state government against such bogus companies.

The KMSS leader had even accused Assam police of patronising Saradha Group by providing security to its chairman and managing director, Sudipto Sen, during his visit to the state. The police, however, had denied the allegation.

The letter stated that according to the KMSS's estimate, in the past few years, these companies had "illegally" collected around Rs 5,000 crore from investors in Assam. None of these, however, had the mandatory permission from any competent authority, be it Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) or Insurance and Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), to accept public deposits, it had alleged.

The development assumes significance as it comes at a time when Saradha Group is facing the ire of depositors in Bengal and Bengal police are on the lookout for Sen, who has gone missing.

The ripples of the group's collapse are also being felt in Assam, where the company has been raising money from small investors.

According to an official source, the high court has made Assam government, represented by the commissioner and secretary of the finance department and the director-general of Assam police, a respondent in the case.

Now that the high court has tightened the noose around these companies, it will be interesting to note the Assam government's stand in court.

A state government official told The Telegraph that there were also doubts that the same Sudipto Sen could also the managing director of another company called Sanchayani Savings and Investment (India) Limited.

He said there was confusion regarding the name of Sen's father though all other indicators said he owned both companies. While Saradha Realty India Limited documents named Sen's father as Nripendra Narayan Sen, those of Sanchayani Savings say it was Bhudeb Chandra Sen. "But the email ID of both companies is the same - mishraak07@gmail.com. Since it is not possible for two separate companies to have the same email ID, there must be something fishy going on and needs thorough investigation."

There are rumours that Sen belongs to the family of Bhudeb Sen, the founder of the Calcutta-based Sanchayani Savings and Investment Company that had defaulted on payments to thousands of depositors in the early 1990s. Bhudeb was eventually arrested in 1994 and the RBI later ordered the company not to accept deposits from the public. According to unconfirmed reports, Sudipto Sen later registered another company under the name of Sanchayani Savings and Investment (India) Limited with a Bihar address.

Sen has, however, reportedly always tried to rubbish his alleged ties with Bhudeb Sen's family, probably fearing a trust deficit that could harm his own deposit collecting ventures. This was probably another reason why his PAN card and Saradha Group documents listed his father's name as Nripendra Narayan Sen.

"There is also confusion about the correct spelling of his name because in some documents it appears as Sudipto while in others it is Sudipta," the source added.


The Telegraph, 22 April, 2013, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130422/jsp/frontpage/story_16812453.jsp#.UXT1SErcing


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close