The police here registered a fresh case of forgery against Hemant Zaveri, one of the directors of jewellery chain Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Sons (TBZ), who allegedly defrauded an investor to the tune of Rs 38.85 lakh.
The offence was registered on Wednesday on the basis of an order issued by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, after the accused allegedly presented forged cheques to the aggrieved depositor as a settlement.
Zaveri (60) and other directors of the company had floated gold deposit scheme, in which Nagpur resident Manish Kiran Deshraj (50) had invested 1,450 gm of gold worth Rs 38.85 lakh in 2015, the police said in a statement.
However, the TBZ branch stopped sharing profits with Deshraj and kept delaying his payments, forcing the complainant to lodge a complaint of cheating in 2018.
Similarly, the company allegedly cheated other investors, following which an offence under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and relevant provisions of the IPC and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPDA), was registered against Zaveri, the release stated.
Zaveri then filed a bail application before the Nagpur bench of the High Court and during the hearing, Zaveri’s counsel submitted 10 cheques to Deshraj and six receipts.
However, on verification, it was found that the cheques were forged and the gold deposits were not returned to the complainant.
The Nagpur bench ordered action against Zaveri, who has now been booked under section 465 (forgery) and relevant provisions of the IPC, the release stated.
