BENGALURU: Just when the day they had been waiting for was upon them, their dreams were shattered to bits.
About 200 tribal families, originally from Samastipur in Bihar, were eagerly looking forward to June 5 when they would have struck it rich.
The money they had raised after selling their land in Bihar, a total of about Rs 90 lakh, which was invested as Fixed Deposit with IMA Jewels, was to mature that day.
They watched a movie, had a feast the previous day and slept dreaming of buying land in Bagalur and leading a happy life. Little did they know that the owner of the company, the man they trusted, had by then made all plans to flee the country and they would be counted amongst the thousands of investors whose lives are now doomed.
“We are a tribal community from Bihar. After the drought in Bihar in 2014, we sold our land and came to Bengaluru with some cash. We bought land near Thanisandra and were living there, but real estate people threatened us and forced us to sell our land here too. We were termed as Hakki-Pikki tribes,” 35-year-old Vicky Dev says, narrating their ordeal.
Interrupting him in a loud voice, 42-year-old Munidevi said, “I lost Rs 20 lakh. Every penny I invested was my hard-earned money. With great difficulty, we had saved that money. I have nine children of whom six are daughters. I have a heart disease. My relative has cancer. Where do we go now?”
After selling their land in Thanisandra, these tribals deposited all that money in IMA Jewels on the advice of some Muslim friends in the area. Some money was deposited for monthly interest and the rest in Fixed Deposit for five years. As per the scheme, they got 3% interest per month.
IMA scam: Families left devastated
“We were getting Rs 30,000 per month for Rs 10 lakh investment and we were told we will get Rs 40 lakh for our investment of Rs 20 lakh after five years,” explained Deepak, gaping in the dark not knowing what to do.
Hoping that every investment of theirs will bring more money, the families kept reinvesting almost the entire interest amount they earned.
“On June 5, we went to the shop and asked for our money. We were told that due to demonetisation they cannot give us cash and that we would get it to our accounts,” explained Vicky.
Every day, they kept going to the shop and to the bank and coming back disappointed. On June 10, they were devastated when they learnt Mohammed Mansoor had gone missing.
The families here even had their relatives from Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai deposit money with IMA Jewels.
The tribal families, which make a living by collecting honey from apartment complexes, houses, offices, highrises, etc., are now struggling to make a living.
“We have huge families. I have 7 children and all are young girls. They went to an English medium school nearby. Now, how do we send them a school? Some of us even contemplated suicide,” said Neena.
They have now lodged complaints and are waiting for their friends and relatives to come from other states to do so.
Investors Bear The Brunt
Enforcement Directorate has filed a case of money laundering Afzal Pasha (54) who had invested Rs 8 lakh, and Sarufabi (60), whose family had invested Rs 5 lakh, lost their lives due to the shock.
Mohammed Sirajuddin (65), who has invested Rs 10 lakh, has moved the High Court for a CBI probe.