In a significant development highlighting cross-border financial fraud, an FIR was registered at the Sadar police station in Kanpur on Sunday. The complaint targets alleged mega-fraudster Ravindranath Soni, accused of duping four victims, including two medical doctors, of a staggering sum of approximately Rs 9.44 crore.
Victims Span Gujarat and Jharkhand, Reside in Dubai
The complainants, though currently living with their families in Dubai for several years, hail from different parts of India. Their origins trace back to Ahmedabad and Jamnagar in Gujarat, and Ranchi in Jharkhand. The police have initiated the process by sending the relevant documents to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Eastern) office. It is expected that all case papers will be forwarded to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by Monday for further investigation into the financial intricacies of the scam.
Detailed Breakdown of the Alleged Fraud
The individual complaints paint a picture of substantial losses suffered by professionals based in the UAE. Dr. Avesh Ashok Pataria, originally from Anand in Gujarat, approached the Sadar police station alleging that Soni and his associates cheated him of Rs 2,56,78,758. The fraud was perpetrated under the guise of making investments in a Blue-chip Commercial Broker Company.
Similarly, Prahlad Prasad, from Jamnagar and working in a Dubai IT firm, accused Soni of defrauding him of a massive Rs 4,89,11,920. Nidhi Vijay Mehta, an Ahmedabad native, reported a loss of Rs 1,22,27,980. The fourth victim, Dr. Pulak Puneet from Ranchi, was cheated of Rs 76,25,746, again in the name of fake investments. All four collectively filed a zero FIR at the Kanpur police station.
Mounting Cases Against the Accused
This is not an isolated incident involving Ravindranath Soni, a resident of Malviyanagar in Delhi. The number of cases against him is reportedly increasing. Just a day before this FIR, on Saturday, Manikandan Rajgopal from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, filed a separate case accusing Soni and an associate named Gurneet Kaur of fraud amounting to Rs 98,44,100.
Legal Process and Police Statement
Explaining the procedure for the zero FIR, ACP Ashutosh Singh of the police station clarified the next steps. "Whatever FIRs were filed will be transferred to the police stations of the respective districts from where the victims originally belong. The investigation concerning those victims will be conducted from there. Any cooperation sought by the concerned police station will be provided from here," Singh stated. This mechanism ensures that victims can register a complaint anywhere in the country, irrespective of where the crime occurred, facilitating easier access to justice.
The case underscores the challenges of financial frauds that exploit the aspirations of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and highlights the coordinated efforts required between police stations across states and federal agencies like the ED to track and prosecute such interstate and international scams.
