Private company Provogue India duped of Rs 90 crore; ex-director among four booked

Mumbai, Nov 19 (PTI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police has registered a case of cheating against four persons, including a former director and an ex-employee of Provogue India Ltd, for cheating the company of Rs 90 crore, officials said on Wednesday.

Provogue India Ltd, based in Mumbai, manufactures and sells a wide range of products, including men's and women's apparel, accessories and luggage.

The accused persons were identified as former director of the company Rakesh Rawat, its former employee Sameer Khandelwal, resolution professional Amit Gupta, new purchaser Arpit Khandelwal, Plutus Investments and Holding Ltd and others, an official said.

The accused conspired with each other and allegedly undervalued the actual worth of the company's assets and deliberately delayed the auction process by two years to bring down its market value so that Khandelwal could purchase the company, an official said.

The accused did not collect the receivable amounts from clients (debtors) for personal gain, he said.

A complaint in this connection was lodged by 55-year-old Nikhil Chaturvedi, a former managing director of Provogue India Ltd, he said.

The offence was committed between 2018 and 2023.

The accused have been booked on the charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy, he said, adding that a probe was underway. PTI DC NP