DJ Venkatesh
Port Blair, Apr 28: In Chit-fund scam, mention of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in a letter reportedly written by Mr. Sudipta Sen, Chairman of Saradha Group to CBI has triggered ripple in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The letter mentioned “….I organised one short meeting with the marketing members of Andaman and they assured me that they will provide the entire amount but they have provided me 18 crores …”
This reference raised many questions like whether this group is present in Andamans too? How many people have already been cheated by the group? How many such bogus groups are collecting money from Islanders?
Andaman Sheekha has found that there are atleast nine such groups, present in Andamans, which are collecting cash amount from public, promising to give heavy returns. It is still not clear, whether all this money is directly going to the Chit-Fund scam master mind.
Andaman Sheekha has collected atleast three Pamplets of such groups and checked the official websites too. One Pamplet illegally uses a nearly-identical logo of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) while another agency which has name similar to Reliance Company, was using logo of Reliance India till recent past.
Websites address provided by some of the chit fund companies lack any registration details with SEBI or RBI. Some of them display only debenture certificates on their sites.
At present lot of educated unemployed youths including many government servants are doing part-time jobs in these companies and fooling people as well as themselves as when these companies will pack up, they will only face court cases and public outrage in Andamans.
While Talking to Andaman Sheekha, a senior Police Officer has urged the General Public of Andaman and Nicobar Islands to cross check the background and authenticity of all such companies, before investing money. “There is a need to check whether these companies are following the guidelines of SEBI. A background check is must before investing money and media can play a better role in spreading awareness in this regard,” he said.
It has been learnt that most of these chit fund companies are marketing more in remote Islands and targeting the village people, as awareness level among village people is mostly low.
As a social responsibility Andaman Sheekha has forwarded all possible details to police department, hope the Andaman and Nicobar Police will investigate into this matter and ensure that Islanders are not fooled by dubious chit fund companies.
