NAHARLAGUN, Nov 23: Naharlagun Police team led by Sub-InspectorSI S.S Jha assisted by Ct Kanto Samyor and Ct Sanu Raj under the guidance of OC PS NLG Inspector Minli Geyi and SP Capital Jimmy Chiram (IPS) arrested one habitual cheater on 15 Nov last namely Mahesh Sharma from Guwahati, Assam who was on the run for the last eight months.
In the month of March’22 last Naharlagun Police team received a complaint that one finance company run by the name of Omega Associates and its Managing Director Mahesh Sharma had cheated multiple people with lakhs of rupees by promising them loans and financial technical support to set up small-scale factories.The police team took up an investigation based on Naharlagun PS Case No-21/22 u/s420/120-B IPC and during the course of the investigation it was learned that the alleged accused Mahesh Sharma doesn’t exist and the address given by him for obtaining a bank account (in the name of the firm) and the office was false.
After months of electronic and human surveillance, the police team learned that the said Mahesh Sharma is now operating under another name namely Mrinal Baruah and had set up another finance company by the name of Star Marketing Services and is planning to again cheat people of state by giving advertisements in a local leading daily seeking Regional Managers and Associates for the new firm. Police had sent a decoy customer to the registered office of the said firm Star Marketing Services at Guwahati and arrested Mahesh Sharma who now identified himself as Mrinal Baruah.
Background and Modus Operandi
1. MaheshSharma@Subhash Chandra Borah@Mrinal Baruah@SK Sharma@ ManindraKakoti’s original name is Ratan Nath and he is a 65-year-old man and a native of Dhemaji,Assam.
2. After graduating from ADP College Dhemaji in the year 1985-86 he tried his hands at various jobs and in desperation to earn quick money, in around year 2000 he started committing identity frauds, impersonation,forgery and cheating.
3. As part of his modus operandi, he would create fake identity and use it to obtain PAN cards and Driving licenses. Then using those ID cards, the conman would open a bank account and obtain trading licenses for financing firms.
4. He would then publish advertisements in the leading local daily of Nagaland,Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh seeking managers and agents for the said financing firms.
5. Seeing such advertisements unemployed youth would apply. On the pretext of high payments and commissions, if they brought customers to the firm, innocent youth would be lured into their fraudulent business model.
6. The fraudulent business model involved a dishonest promise by the conman to facilitate the establishment of water bottling/paper manufacturing/tiles and ceramics manufacturing plants etc. He also proposed to provide easy finance through hassle-free loans for such establishments.
7. The regional managers/agentshired through advertisements would bring customers and on the assurance of such managers/promise of quick loan disbursals for setting up of the manufacturing units, such customers fall prey and invest huge amounts. Such customers were also charged high processing fees as part of their enrollment.
8. After receiving the said amounts the conman Ratan Nath will flee and change his identity completely as he did in the instant case where hebecameMrinalBaruahfromMaheshSharmamakingitalmostimpossibletotracehim.
9. Police team has till now identified five aliases used by him and has learned that he is wanted in multiple cases in Nagaland and Assam as well.
10.Till now police have been able to identify 05 gullible victims of the fraud who have been duped to the tune of 19 lakhs.
SP Capital Jimmy Chiram(IPS) while lauding the efforts of the police team also asked people to identify the said cheat and approach their nearest police station if they have been a victim of the arrested accused. He also urged people to be prudent with their money and be cautious while giving huge sums to strangers, stated a press release.