Mumbai Court Denies Bail To 41-Year-Old Man In ₹7.31 Crore Cyber Fraud Case, Says He Enabled Misuse Of Bank Account
Mumbai: A special court here has refused bail to a 41-year-old man held in a cyber fraud case, saying one cannot escape criminal liability after permitting the use of his or her account for criminal activities.
Judge Says Individuals Cannot Allow Misuse of Bank Accounts
Additional sessions judge AV Gujarathi, while refusing bail to Rahul Gawali, said, “Everybody must be aware that he or she should not permit the other person to misuse his or her bank account for the criminal activities.”
Gawali is accused of allowing the co-accused to use his company's bank account to commit the fraud.
Complainant Lost ₹7.31 Crore After Being Added to WhatsApp Group
In a complaint lodged with the South Region cyber police, by Girgaon resident Kishor Ravji Patel alleged that he was added in WhatsApp group A5 Capital Market Observation.
The complainant claimed that admin of the group Riya Bansal and one unknown person pretended to be members of ‘HSBC Security’ induced him to invest with them with the assurance of 10% monthly return.
The complainant claimed that he invested Rs 7.31 crore between March 7 and May 6. However, despite repeated demands his amount was not returned.
₹5 Lakh Traced to Company Account Linked to Accused
A probe revealed Rs 5 lakh of the defrauded amount was transferred to an account in the name of Rahsa Beez Solution Pvt Ltd, of which Gawali is one of the directors along-with one Sajan Choudhari.
Accused Claims He Was Forced to Open Bank Account in Goa
Gawali, however, while seeking bail claimed that he is falsely implicated in this crime and has no knowledge of the transactions made in the bank accounts.
Accused Claimed to Be Victim; Court Rejects Argument
Gawali had claimed that he himself is a victim of the fraud as the accused had taken him to Mhapusa, Goa, and forced him to open the said bank account on the pretext of providing service to him.
Court Notes Failure to File Complaint Undermines Defence
The court, however, did not accept his submission saying that Gawali had not filed any criminal case of cheating against the accused.
Court Finds Accused Facilitated Crime
The court further said, “It is crystal clear that the present accused has facilitated commission of the crime. He has not filed a criminal complaint for cheating him. He was aware of the malafide intentions of the co-accused.”
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Accused Played Active Role in Fraud, Says Court
“The accused has permitted co-accused to use his bank account to commit fraud and to dupe the innocent people. It is clear that the accused has played an active role in the crime,” the court said.
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