CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Central Crime Branch to identify the immovable property in the names of executives of HBN Dairies and Allied Limited, a finance firm that allegedly cheated about 20 lakh people in the country after collecting deposits to the tune of Rs 1,136.78 crore.
Justice M S Ramesh gave the direction when a petition from Immanuel of Thousand Lights, one of the depositors, came up for hearing on March 6. The petition prayed for a directive to the authorities concerned to expedite investigation and trial in the case.
According to advocate Vijayalakshmi K Rajarathinam, the firm had collected deposits from gullible for conducting business in dairy and allied products. On the basis of a complaint from Jayabharathi of Avadi, the EO II registered an FIR for offences under various sections of IPC and Section 5 of the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) (TNPID) Act. Totally, eight persons were cited as accused. Of them, two were absconding and the Madras High Court had granted anticipatory bail to three other accused.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had frozen the immovable property of the company and its MD and director, based on complaints received by Raipur Police. The title deeds of immovable property of the directors are already deposited with the SEBI. While so, as per the status report filed by the Inspector of Police, EO II, totally 526 complaints were received against the company in Tamil Nadu alone to the tune of default amount of `1.33 crore. The total number of complaints may go up to 5,000 or more, out of which only 526 complaints were received so far. A letter had been already addressed by the ADGP, EO Wing, on August 11 last year to the Regional Director, Northern Regional office, SEBI, to give priority to depositors of Tamil Nadu at the time of settlement.
The EO II submitted that the immovable property of company’s CEO Ettiyappan and manager Muthaiyan were identified in Tamil Nadu and steps were being taken to attach them, Vijayalakshmi said. The judge said the EO wing should co-ordinate with all district Collectors of the State as well as Superintendents of Police to ascertain whether any complaint in connection with the present issue is pending with them. Meanwhile, the EO wing shall take effective steps to obtain the genuineness certificate of the immovable property belonging to senior CEO M Ranganathan and Ettiyappan and other accused.
Recording the status report, the judge posted the matter for further hearing on March 23.
Status report
Totally 526 complaints were received against the company in Tamil Nadu alone to the tune of default amount of `1.33 crore