The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Police to take concrete steps to arrest all the accused in a 2018 case of defrauding investors, observing it as a "serious crime".
Taking note of the alleged lackadaisical approach of the police, the High Court also instructed the Kohlapur Superintendent of Police to ensure that the investigating officers responsible for "this mess" are questioned.The case involves an incident where a company, namely Mekar Group of India, collected over Rs 56 crore in the form of investments from various people and misappropriated the funds.The bench of Justice GA Sanap said, "It was the duty of the investigating officer to complete the investigation in all respects in such a serious crime. It was expected of the investigating officer to arrest all accused and make them face the prosecution. It was the duty of the Superintendent of Police, Kolhapur to supervise the investigation of such a serious crime.”
Justice Sanap added, “In my view if steps had been taken, this situation would not have arisen. The unfortunate investors who have been duped by the accused are crying for justice."
While passing the order on the bail plea of one of the accused, Bhaskar Limbkar, the High Court said, "The Superintendent of Police, Kolhapur, apart from taking concrete steps to arrest all accused, shall also see that the investigating officers who are responsible for this mess must questioned about it."
The court also observed that the case was registered in 2018, with only three accused being arrested initially, two of whom managed to secure bail. Subsequently, following the court's stern reprimand of the police earlier this month, four additional arrests were made.
"The arrest of four accused within a short span of time after the order of this Court indicate that if such seriousness was shown earlier, by this time all accused would have been arrested. The lapses noticed by this Court committed by the investigating officers in the conduct of investigation are very serious,” Justice Sanap observed.The High Court had previously instructed the police to form a special team to assist the investigating officer in apprehending the remaining accused.The case was initiated against the company and its accused members after a complaint was filed by one of the 93 investors.Limkar's bail plea was submitted through advocates Satyavrat Joshi, Mahendra Kawchale, and Nitesh Mohite.
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