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A jeweler in Maharashtra's Thane district has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a court for cheating people of over Rs 2.5 crore in a gold investment scheme.Â
Judge GT Pawar has also acquitted two others in a case under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, 1999, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The order for the designated cases under the MPID Act was passed on August 22.Â
Santosh Sadanand Shelar, proprietor of Trimurti Ratna Jewellers, was found guilty by the Thane Court for cheating investors out of more than Rs 2.5 crore. Judge Pawar sentenced him to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 6 lakh.Â
A complaint was first lodged in 2019 by an investor who was promised significant returns on monthly deposits in a gold investment scheme, which didn't pay out.Â
The trial concluded with testimonies from approximately 27 witnesses, including investors. The court found that Shelar, being the owner, was directly responsible for the fraudulent default on deposits. Further noting that the invested money under the MPID Act was a "deposit" and the owner's failure to return it amounted to "dishonest misappropriation."Â
The court stated, "The accused did not return the invested amount to the investors on maturity and used it for himself. It amounts to dishonest misappropriation by the accused for his own use."Â
For the two employees who were also booked in the case, the court ruled that even though they were involved in daily operations, explaining the schemes to investors, the prosecution couldn't establish that they were part of the management.Â
Shelar has been convicted under Section 3 of the MPID Act, sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment, and charged with a Rs 1 lakh fine. He was further sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh under Section 409 of the IPC.Â
In his final verdict, Justice Pawar ordered that both sentences would run concurrently. Â
