4 held as Mumbai cops crack crypto-currency case

Sleuths of Mumbai Crime Branch arrested four people on Friday for allegedly operating as agents with a Surat-based company dealing with a crypto-currency business. The accused had allegedly duped the investors of Rs 1.12 crore, sleuths said.

All the accused — Sanjay Sontakke (44), Rajnikant Kubawat (46), Alpesh Bharodiya (32) and Kirankumar Panchsara (38) — are from Surat. The ones wanted in the case are Ashok Goyal, Asif Malkani, Baljeetsingh Saini and Sonu Dahisar.

Surat-based businessman Umeshchand Jain (33)told police that the accused met him and a couple of his friends between December 2016 and 2017. The culprits convinced them to invest in the form crypto-currencies and win double the amount in return in just 60 days. Cases have been registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust), 409 (Criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 419 (Punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention).

"Kubawat had deposited cheques taken from Jain in his bank account in Surat. Similarly, Panschara and Sontakke had deposited cheques given by Jain in a Ghaziabad-based bank in the name of Jaipuriya Buildcon Pvt Ltd company. the director of the company is Ashok Goyal," police said. The accused had deposited the cheques in several accounts, including some in New Delhi. However, when they failed to keep their word, Jain lodged a complaint with the police.