Investors throng jewellery store as owner 'disappears' in Bengaluru
Audio clip of owner goes viral
Bengaluru, Jun 10: Hundreds of investors thronged a prominent city jewellery store Monday after an audio clip surfaced where a person alleged to be the owner is heard saying he is going to commit suicide as he was fed up with corruption.
The owner was also into the chit fund business.
As soon the audio went viral, investors including a large number of women with their children started gathering at the IMAJewellers headquarters at Shivajinagar near here demanding action against Mohammed Mansur Khan, the owner.
The person is heard addressing police that he was committing suicide as he was fed up withcorruption in the state and central government.
In the audio, he is also heard accusing central and state officials of harassing him, compelling him to take the extreme step.
He also asks police to sell all his wealth and jewellery to pay investors and is heard accusing a politician of taking Rs 400 crore from him and not returning it.
Investors claimed they had invested crores in the firm.
Police have deployed adequate force around the jewellery shop to prevent any untoward incidents.
Deputy commissioner of police of Bengaluru East division Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad appealed to investors to lodge complaints with police with whatever proof they have.
He also made it clear that they have no information about Khan and asked people not to jump to any conclusion.
Police suspect that at least 26,000 investors from across Karnataka have been cheated.
Meanwhile, police have sounded alert at airport, bus-standand railway station to track the jeweller.
Police and investors said his mobile phone has been switched off and he is not traceable.
".... He has switched off his mobile phone and he is untraceable," commercial street police inspector B K Shekhar said.
Gultaz Banu, an investor, claimed she had invested about Rs nine lakh in the company.
"Since he was paying very high returns we relied on him. I sold all my jewellery to deposit in his company. Today I am left with nothing," Banu said.
Most of those who invested in the company belong to the minority community, working as auto rickshaw drivers, beedi manufacturers, carpenters and street vendors, police said.
Two years ago, the income tax department had conducted searches at the IMA business establishments.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
