The home department registered 6,509 cases of economic offences in 2010. The number of arrests made was 4,047. Mumbai recorded the highest number of cases — 2,261, followed by Thane — 721, Pune — 601 and Nagpur — 300.
The state government is confronted with a new challenge — to check economic offences as the number of people lodging complaints of financial impropriety has increased substantially in the absence of adequate laws.
Home minister RR Patil on Monday said, “Last year, the department recorded economic offences to the tune of Rs710 crore. Most of the victims are small investors duped by fraudulent companies and individuals who lure them into making investments with promises of good returns, and then disappear.
Since these firms are not registered, it is difficult to trace their credentials and take action. “But taking note of the growing instances, the home minister has decided to set up economic offense wings in every district. The role of these units is to suo moto track advertisements made through various forums and take action. The home ministry also wants to restore the Investors Protection Act, which was scrapped by the Bombay high court, by challenging the decision in the supreme court.
Officials in the home department said, “The act is essential as it empowers the police to act against firms cheating people. Currently, the police’s role is limited and it cannot go after companies or individuals indulging in financial fraud.”
The home minister said, “Apart from putting the act back in place, we have to also launch a massive awareness campaign in urban and rural Maharashtra. The statistics compiled by the home department for the past three years show the trend of such fraud is highest in Mumbai.”
The recruitment process in the economic offense units will stress on candidates with commerce and economic background like BCom etc. This will help the staff in understanding cases related to economic offences better. The government has also decided to allow these units to consult chartered accountants to solve cases.
Against 6,509 economic offences registered last year, the number was 5,874 in 2009 and 4,999 in 2008.
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