Nutan Dal Mill fraud: Mumbai court denies bail to absconder Nareshkumar Barad

The Goregaon police investigated the case, filed a chargesheet, and found clear involvement of accused Nareshkumar Barad. Barad has been absconding since he applied for bail in the Mumbai Sessions MPID Court in April 2024. File pic

The Mumbai Sessions MPID Court rejected the bail application of Nareshkumar Barad, the absconding proprietor of Vidya Marketing, involved in the Nutan Dal Mill investment fraud case.

Barad is accused of trading in oil and receiving money from Ketan Rambhia, the proprietor of Nutan Dal Mill Stores, who collected it from various investors. Barad would then transfer the received funds back to Rambhia in cash, leading to a conspiracy that siphoned off Rs 13,62,81,799 crore from numerous investors.

Rambhia was arrested in 2022 after an FIR was registered by the Goregaon police following a complaint from Anita Kadecha, who alleged that Rambhia had defrauded her and her relatives of Rs 41,50,000, promising a 15 per cent annual return on their investment with fake stamp paper (colored Xerox).

The Goregaon police investigated the case, filed a chargesheet, and found clear involvement of accused Nareshkumar Barad. Barad has been absconding since he applied for bail in the Mumbai Sessions MPID Court in April 2024.

Complainant Anita Kadecha, a law graduate, had invested her entire life savings with Rambhia and was financially broke. Unable to afford legal fees, she learned legal strategies from selected lawyers and personally opposed Barad's bail application in court, presenting substantial evidence against him. The court acknowledged her efforts, noted the fraudulent activities of Rambhia and Barad, and consequently rejected Barad's bail application, directing the police to continue their investigation.

Speaking to mid-day Kadecha said, "Rambhia transferred the money he cheated from people into Barad's account, which Barad then returned to Rambhia's account. Additionally, many members of Rambhia's family also transferred money to Barad's account, claiming it was a loan. However, the investigation found no evidence of Barad paying any interest or any loan agreement between them. Surprisingly, even family members of Rambhia with no personal income claimed to have given money to Barad as a loan. This led the court to conclude that Rambhia had given the money he had fraudulently obtained from people to Barad and his relatives.

Advocates Mahesh Vinod Rajpopat and Akshit Devendra Kothari, representing other witnesses and victims in the case, stated that Nareshkumar Barad is a direct beneficiary. A substantial amount of money was transferred from the bank account of Nutan Dal Mill and its owners to the account of Vidya Marketing, owned by Barad. This money was originally invested by the victims with Nutan Dal Mill and its owners.

R13.62 crore

Total money siphoned from investors

QUOTE

‘Rambhia transferred the money he cheated from people into Barad's account, which Barad then returned to Rambhia's account. Additionally, many members of Rambhia's family also transferred money to Barad's account, claiming it was a loan' Anita Kadecha, complainant