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Delhi cops nab elusive JVG group CMD Sharma in Bombay

Vijay Kumar Sharma, chairman and managing director of the JVG group of companies, who had been eluding police for a long time, was arrested in Bombay today for allegedly defrauding thousands of investors all over India and collecting Rs 5.85 billion by floating 17 companies, Delhi Police's crime branch said in New Delhi.

A team of officers from the Economic Offences Wing of the crime branch was sent to Bombay on November 17. The team arrested Sharma today from a flat in Bandra, a suburb in northwest Bombay. Sharma, after being produced before the court in Bombay, will be brought to Delhi for further investigations, senior police officers said.

So far 600 investors had lodged complaints with the crime branch against the JVG group of companies.

Sharma, it is alleged, collected million of rupees after promising to pay exorbitant rates of interest on the deposits. He issued post-dated cheques for the principal amount and interest amount. But in 1997 all the cheques bounced.

Investors complained to the civil courts, consumer courts, Company Law Board and criminal courts under the Negotiable Instruments Act and legal proceedings were also started against the JVG group of companies.

Sharma's brother, B B Sharma, who is CMD of of Hoffland Group of Companies, was arrested on September 20 from Varanasi. But V K Sharma could not be located though several raids were conducted in different parts of the country to apprehend him.

Four cases of cheating, misappropriation and criminal conspiracy were registered and taken up for investigation by the EO Wing of Delhi Police.

During investigation, one of the directors, Col (retd) T S Bhan, was arrested on June 7 from IGI Airport in New Delhi while trying to leave the country and is still in judicial custody. Searches for the other directors were made and raiding parties were sent to different states to locate V K Sharma.

A total of 31 bank accounts of the JVG group of companies were seized and Rs 500,000 lying in these accounts were frozen. Land and property, including 238 acres in Gurgaon district, Rewari and Faridabad, in the name of JVG group of companies were attached.

Nine vehicles of the company were taken into police possession and a number of benami properties located in Bombay and Delhi, held by the company, were identified and information was sent about them to the income tax authorities in Delhi and Bombay.

Sharma moved the Bombay high court for the transfer of all criminal cases registered in various states against the JVG group to the Central Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.

On June 29, the high court transferred only the cases registered in Maharashtra to the CBI. The next day, Sharma moved an application for anticipatory bail in the high court.

On this application, interim bail was given till July 6. Bombay high court granted four weeks bail to Sharma and directed him to appear in the appropriate court in Delhi. Sharma did not appear before any court in Delhi and went underground.

UNI

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