Bombay HC Raps Police For Its Lackadaisical Approach In 2018 Mekar Group Of India Funds Misappropriation Case

Mumbai: Observing that it is a “serious crime”, the Bombay High Court has directed Maharashtra police to take concrete steps to arrest all the accused in a 2018 case in which Mekar Group of India collected over ₹56 crore in the form of investments from various people and misappropriated the funds.

Officers held responsible are questioned

Irked with the lackadaisical approach of the police in probing the case, Justice GA Sanap has also asked the Kolhapur Superintendent of Police (SP) to ensure that the investigating officers responsible for "this mess" are questioned.

The FIR was lodged after a complaint was lodged by one of the 93 investors.

“It was the duty of the investigating officer to complete the investigation in all respects in such a serious crime. It was expected of the investigating officer to arrest all accused and make them face the prosecution,” Justice Sanap said. He added that it was the duty of the SP to “supervise the investigation of such a serious crime”.

The observations were made while hearing a bail plea of one of the accused Bhaskar Limbkar through advocate Satyavrat Joshi, Mahendra Kawchale, and Nitesh Mohite.

The arrests

The police, initially, arrested three persons for their alleged complicity in the case, of these, two were released on bail. Four others were arrested after the court reprimanded the police early this month.

Criticising the police for initially going slow in the probe, the court said, “The arrest of four accused within a short span of time after the order of this court indicates that if such seriousness was shown earlier, by this time all accused would have been arrested.”