Court grants pre-arrest bail to consultant in investors cheating case

Thane, Oct 18 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Thane has granted bail to a consultant named as an accused in a case of duping 20 investors to the tune of Rs 3 crore.

Additional Sessions Judge G T Pawar on Friday allowed the bail application of Hari Datar (53).

He was booked by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Thane police under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 420 (cheating), 409 (criminal breach of trust) and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act along with four others for allegedly operating an investment scheme through a group of companies.

The FIR registered at the Rabodi police station alleges that the accused duped 20 investors to the tune of Rs 3 crore by promising attractive returns ranging from 100 per cent to 250 per cent.

In his bail application, Datar argued that he was neither a director nor an employee of the group, but was himself an investor who had lost Rs 3,00,000 in the scheme.

Finding merit in the plea, the court protected him from immediate custodial interrogation.

While granting bail, the court mandated Datar to attend the police station every Monday until the chargesheet is filed or for three months. He is also barred from tampering with evidence or leaving India without the court's permission. PTI COR NP