Jalna EOW Arrests Mastermind In ₹1.32 Crore Fraud

Jalna: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Jalna police on Tuesday arrested the alleged mastermind of a ₹1.32-crore investment fraud in which around 50 people, including a teacher, were allegedly cheated on the promise of threefold annual returns.

The accused, identified as Mohammed Ejaz Mohammed Rafiq Salat, a resident of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, was arrested from the Nirmal Nagar police station limits in Bandra, Mumbai, at around 1am. The Jalna court remanded him in five days of police custody (PCR) for further investigation, police said.

According to police, the accused and his associates had started a business under the name 'Baba Trading' and lured investors into investing in a Baba Trading and FMCG company by promising to triple their investments annually. After collecting a substantial amount from investors, the accused allegedly fled.

A complaint was lodged by Mohammed Feroz Abdul Sattar, a teacher and resident of Shershwar Nagar in Jalna, on behalf of himself, his brother and around 50 other investors. Based on his complaint, Kadim Jalna police registered an offence on October 3 against three persons under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act (MPID).

The alleged fraud amounts to ₹1,32,05,000, police said.

Two other accused, Wasim Shaikh Gaffar (37) and Mohammed Yunus (34), both residents of Itwar Galli on Kacheri Road in Old Jalna, were arrested on October 7. They are currently in judicial custody.

The alleged mastermind, Salat, had been absconding since the registration of the case and was not using a mobile phone, making it difficult for investigators to trace him.

The EOW team received confidential information through its informers that he was in Bandra, Mumbai. With the assistance of the Nirmal Nagar police, the team traced and arrested him.

Police have appealed to people who invested money in the company after being lured by promises of high returns to approach the Economic Offences Wing and submit their complaints.

Assistant Police Inspector Mithun Ghuge, PSI Shailesh Mhaske, Karan Chavan, Vishnu Korde, Samadhan Telange and other personnel were part of the team.