Goregaon couple case: ‘My name misused in Rs 200-cr fraud’

Hariprasad Akaloo Paswan, who has denied being director of Denron Rea-IT Pvt Ltd. Pic/Hanif Patel

The purported director of Denron Rea-IT Pvt Ltd, Hariprasad Akaloo Paswan, who surfaced following mid-day's investigation into the case of the mysterious Goregaon couple Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta, has told the Bombay High Court that he was unaware of his role as a director in the firm and disavowed any connection with the arrested couple. He contended that he became aware of his directorship solely through a mid-day reporter and denied involvement in the alleged Rs 200 crore arbitration against Bliss Consultants, owned by the Mehtas, claiming he never signed any pertinent documents.

In an intervention application filed before the court on March 8, he asserted, "Everything is being orchestrated by one Ajay Harinath Singh and his close associate Ajay Pasi. My documents have been misused to create fake companies and perpetrate fraud. I am taking steps to file a complaint with the relevant authorities about this. It's imperative to understand that I have absolutely no involvement in any such fraudulent activities. All fraudulent documents and proceedings against Bliss Consultants have been initiated, orchestrated and perpetrated by Ajay Harinath Singh, aided by advocate Dharmendra V Patel and Ajay Pasi for reasons best known to them."

The application further read, "I was never involved in any such transaction as alleged in the purported Arbitration Claim Petition no. 19 of 2022 before K K Chopra, Sole Arbitrator Add. Sessions Judge (Retd). As the said transaction never took place to my knowledge. I was deceived into believing that I was being offered legitimate employment after receiving a company card, only to be sitting idle at an office under pretences. I don't know any company called Bliss Consultants and its proprietor Ashesh Mehta and his wife Shivangi Mehta. I came to know about them from various articles in newspapers and from the journalist who met me."

Bizarre arbitration case

The arbitration case against the Mehta couple appears to be unfounded, as the director of Denron himself claims that he was unaware of his directorship in the company. He stated, "I was not aware of any cash transactions of R200 crore by this unknown company at any time with a company called M/s Bliss Consultants. As such, no such transaction ever occurred within my knowledge. I have neither initiated nor entered into any arbitration proceedings, nor have I signed any documents related to arbitration proceedings against anyone or any company to the best of my knowledge as the director of Denron-IT Trade Pvt Ltd."

According to Paswan's petition, he is a senior citizen who worked as an engineer at Air India and retired in 2018. He claims to have met Pasi at a social gathering within his community. Paswan stated that he was seeking part-time employment after retirement, and Pasi informed him about an opportunity with Singh, an acquaintance of Pasi's from his native place, who was allegedly starting and managing an import-export business from Saki Vihar in Andheri East. In November 2018, Pasi took Paswan's documents and facilitated his introduction to Singh.

‘Pasi offered me position'

"After about three months," Paswan recounted, "Pasi came to my residence with an offer from a company called Sushama Trade Impex Pvt Ltd for the position of administration director." Pasi also obtained five passport-size photos of Paswan and his signature on various documents under the guise of confirming his job and opening a salary account. Paswan alleges that Pasi assured him a salary of Rs 45,000 per month starting a few months prior to June 2023. However, when Paswan inquired about his salary after June, Pasi informed him that the company had ceased its operations.

Ashesh and Shivangi Mehta

In his application, Paswan also revealed startling revelations about a similar arbitration case filed in Delhi by Denron against Vestige Marketing Pvt Ltd for R150 crore. There was an investigation conducted by Delhi police involving fraudulent activities concerning Denron Rea IT-Trade Pvt Ltd and Vestige Marketing Pvt Ltd, amounting to Rs 150 crore.

He further asserted, "I cooperated with the investigation, disclosing the circumstances under which I provided all my documents to Pasi and subsequently obtained employment with Denron Rea IT-Trade Pvt Ltd. I provided a written statement to the police stating that I was never the Director of any such firm. I provided them with all information about Pasi and Singh, and since then, there has been no further investigation."