New Delhi:
A 47-year-old woman was arrested from south Goa for allegedly duping over 900 people to the tune of Rs 250 crore after promising them huge returns on investment in her app-based taxi company, police said on Monday.
According to a police complaint lodged in 2019, the woman and her business partners Saroj Mahapatra, Rajesh Mahto, Sunder Bhati and Harish Bhati duped people after promising higher rates of interest up to 200 per cent on a monthly basis on investment in her company called ‘Hello Taxi’.
Police said more than 900 people have invested in the firm. The company has four co-directors who, along with the woman, fled with the money estimated at Rs 250 crore.
“During investigation, it was found that the directors of the company actively induced the victims to part with their money on the pretext of high returns by investing in Hello Taxi company,” Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW) O P Mishra said.
It initially paid returns to the investors to win their confidence, but later stopped the payments after collecting a huge amount, he said.
The accused also frequently changed their offices. Initially, the company’s office was in Ghaziabad and after a couple of months, the office was shifted to Patparganj Industrial Area and later to Sector-16, Rohini, Mishra said.
The company’s bank statements were scrutinised and its bank accounts containing Rs 3,27,48,495 were frozen.
Sixty new cars worth Rs 3.5 crore purchased from the cheated amount were seized in Noida, police said.
The woman whose identity has not been revealed by police was nabbed from south Goa. Mahto, one of the four co-directors in the company, was arrested on August 23.
Police said efforts were underway to nab their accomplices.
