Risk hai toh ishq hai (Taking risks is an integral part of love). A web series on the life of stock market scamster Harshad made this quote popular among the public last year. Many of those who earlier did not know the ‘Big Bull’ learnt about him. But neither the web series exposing Mehta’s wrongdoings nor timely warnings through advertisements issued by the government about many financial scams have managed to stop common investors from taking ill-advised risks and falling into the traps of these swindlers.
The latest such incident has come to the fore in Barshi area of Maharashtra’s Solapur district. A person named Vishal Fate, being called the Harshad Mehta of Barshi, has been accused of swindling crores of rupees from rich and educated people on the pretext of doubling their money in three months. Vishal runs an investment company called Alka Services in Barshi. Through this and two other companies, he allegedly conned investors.
Those who have lost money include government officials, doctors and businessmen.
Three months ago, Vishal allegedly announced that a person investing Rs 10 lakh would get Rs 6 crore after a year. After this, many interested people showed up. Vishal purportedly told investors that he is an expert of the financial market and invests money after doing proper research and applying algorithms. He apparently gave some investors good returns that drew others into his web.
Vishal allegedly switched off his cellphone on January 9 after getting crores of rupees from investors in just a few months. This created panic among people who had trusted him with their money. When there was no trace of him for a few days, people started lodging complaints with the police. Authorities have now filed an FIR against five people including Vishal, his wife, his father and his brother.
Police were finding it difficult to get information on Vishal. But one day he suddenly put out a video online and claimed that he had surrendered before the police. He has now allegedly said that he will not let the investors’ money sink and will return it even if he has to go to jail.
Vishal has claimed in this video that he made Rs 54 lakh from Rs 4 lakh in a single day. He also spoke about his knowledge of trading. “Doctors or officers, all are my clients…They all know about my investments,” he said.
After he was arrested, the court sent Vishal Fate in police remand until January 27. Officials have been sent to the neighbouring state Karnataka and other parts of Maharashtra with more and more people coming forward with complaints. The initial investigation suggests that the scam is worth more than Rs 18 crore, though some have claimed that the amount involved could be hundreds of crores.
Police say they are investigating the case from various angles and have started to locate the assets that may have been bought with the scam money. So far, a palatial bungalow, a luxury car and land purchases have been unearthed. Police are now preparing lists and records of all these assets so that the money of the investors could be returned.
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