Scam company exposed; furious investors stage protest

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, June 12, 2012: The public on June 12, Tuesday, cracked down on a finance company running along the lines of Bizarre Group, which has been cheating investors from the past three years. The company, located in City Light Building, Hampankatta, was run by a man from Kerala. 

Functioning under the banner of Bizarre Karnataka Franchise, the company had collected thousands of rupees from gullible individuals for the past three years, promising them huge profits in the next two years.

Preliminary investigations have now revealed that the company has cheated over 500 people, many of who were women.

 

DYFI President Imtiaz said that Bizarre Group had collected Rs. 14,000 from each investor and promised returns of Rs. 2 lakh in 24 months. Investors were demanding that the company should pay them back the amount invested, but the employees at the company kept saying that they would get back their returns soon. When a group of investors approached the company today, they were told that the company owner has been arrested and the company’s headquarters in Kerala have been shut down by the government. They also said that MLA U. T. Khader and Chandrashekar Uchil, the BJP leader, are the partners for the Mangalore branch. 

He further said that, when contacted on phone, Mr. Uchil promised to come to the office and meet the investors, but never turned up. He added that members of the DYFI will continue protesting outside the office till a solution is found for the problem. 

Voicing his opinions, Sunil Kumar Bajal said that people who have invested money in the company have lost it all, adding that the DYFI will continue protesting till one of the partners comes to the office and pays back the investors. 

When DCP Subhashchandra S. and Gaonkar, inspector of Bunder Police Station, arrived at the spot, they met Dinesh, the company agent, and interrogated him. He said that the company owner is in Kerala and that the funds invested will be returned to the investors in 2013 according to the NSC. He also said that there was a delay in repayment because of certain problems at the head office. He said that Rs. 28 crore has been deposited in the bank and that the company will pay all its investors. 

The DCP then met the protestors and urged them to leave as the company agent has promised that their money will be returned soon. 

The police have closed the office, seized documents, and taken some employees into custody. Meanwhile, the managing director of the company has fled from the scene and is not answering the phone.