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آگوست 1, 2022

Patra Chawl redevelopment case: After searching his home for 9 hours, ED arrests Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut

The ED conducted a search for over nine hours at Raut’s Bhandup residence on Sunday, and then detained him for questioning in connection with a case of alleged money laundering linked to the redevelopment of a chawl project in a northern suburb of Mumbai.
The ED had questioned the parliamentarian for over 10 hours on July 1, and had summoned him again on July 20. Raut, who is a member of Rajya Sabha, had not answered the summons citing the ongoing session of Parliament.
ED investigators landed up at Raut’s home early on Sunday, and after questioning the members of his household for over nine hours, took the MP to the agency’s office at Ballard Pier at 4.45 pm. A sizable number of Shiv Sena workers had gathered outside Raut’s residence in support of the leader.

The ED is investigating alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a case pertaining to irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra Chawl by Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL). The agency had earlier arrested Pravin Raut, a close associate of Sanjay Raut, and attached properties belonging to the Shiv Sena leader’s wife, Varsha Raut.
Guru Ashish Construction had signed a tripartite agreement with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), undertaking to provide flats to 672 tenants of Patra Chawl, develop flats for MHADA, and sell the remaining area to private developers.

However, the ED claims, Pravin Raut and the other directors of Guru Ashish Constructions misled MHADA and sold the floor space index (FSI) to nine private developers, collecting Rs 901.79 crore, without constructing either the rehab portion for the 672 displaced tenants or the MHADA’s portion.
The agency has claimed that Pravin Raut received Rs 100 crore from HDIL and “diverted” it to various accounts of “his close associates, family member, his business entities” including the family of Sanjay Raut.

Raut has said that he is not linked to any of the companies being investigated by the ED, and that he would cooperate with the investigation. He has also denied all allegations, and alleged that the ED’s action against him is part of a political witch hunt.
“This is a fake investigation. Fake evidence has been gathered against me by threatening and assaulting people. This is part of a conspiracy to weaken Maharashtra and the Shiv Sena. This state and the Sena will never be weakened. Sanjay Raut will never bend and nor will he quit the Shiv Sena,” Raut told reporters while he was being taken away by the ED officials.

ExplainedClosing in on Sanjay RautThe case is not new, and has seen movement on and off over the past several years. However, it has been building up towards Sanjay Raut ever since his close aide Pravin Raut was arrested in February, and properties belonging to the Shiv Sena leader’s wife, Varsha Raut, were attached.

“A fake case that has been foisted on me. This is part of an attempt to stifle my voice. They are going to arrest me, and I will be arrested,” he said.
Shiv Sena MLA Sunil Raut, who is the brother of Sanjay Raut and stays in the same house, said the ED officers had a search warrant, and had collected documents that the family had already submitted to the agency.
“They had a search warrant for Maitri bungalow, and checked all three floors. They took documents that we had earlier submitted to the ED, and also collected documents that were earlier submitted to the Income Tax Department, as well as those filed with Sanjay Raut’s election affidavit. They could not get a single document related to Patra Chawl. This is a fake investigation aimed at isolating Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray,” Sunil Raut said.

Late in the evening, sources in the ED claimed that unaccounted-for cash to the tune of Rs 11.5 lakh had been recovered from Raut’s residence. Separately, Mumbai Police on Sunday registered an FIR against the MP for allegedly intimidating one Swapna Patkar, an ED witness in the Patra Chawl case. The FIR is based on an audio recording of a purported conversation between Raut and Patkar.
A Mumbai Police officer said the FIR was registered under sections 504, 504 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code at the Vakola police station. Patkar has accused Raut of trying to intimidate her.
Earlier on Sunday, Sena president Thackeray said that the ED’s action was part of a “conspiracy” to destroy the party. Thackeray was addressing party leaders and workers from Thane district at his residence Matoshree.

“ED guests are at Sanjay Raut’s house. He may get arrested. What conspiracy is this? Shiv Sena gives strength to Hindus and Marathi people, and hence there is a conspiracy to finish off the party,” he said. Thackeray said people whom the Sena had helped to grow politically, had switched loyalty.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Ajit Pawar wondered why the ED repeatedly wanted to investigate Sanjay Raut. “Many people got notices from the Income Tax, ED, and the CBI. Only Raut will be able to say why the agency (ED) wants to investigate him repeatedly,” Pawar, who is touring flood-affected areas in the state, told reporters.
Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said the ED search at Raut’s residence presented a “sorry picture” of democracy, and accused the BJP of wanting to “silence” all opposition parties. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule said the issue would be raised in Parliament.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the ED was doing the work it was mandated to do, and was not acting under political pressure.
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“The investigation is underway. If he (Sanjay Raut) hasn’t done anything wrong, why is he scared,” Shinde said, adding, “ED has conducted investigations earlier too. If it is working under the instructions of the central government, then the Supreme Court should take action… The ED is doing its job.”
Shiv Sena rebel MLAs who had earlier criticised Raut and blamed him for pushing Uddhav Thackeray into the hands of the Congress-NCP, said the MP should face the consequences of his actions.
MLA Sanjay Shirsat said, “He (Raut) is not a mass leader. He is just a spokesperson. There is no possibility that Shiv Sainiks will rise up in large numbers in his support because of this (ED’s) action. This country is run by the rule of law. If he has not committed any mistake he will be let off.”
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ژوئن 7, 2022

7,429 active Covid cases in Mumbai: Mask up, health minister tells residents

As the active Covid-19 count in Maharashtra stood at 7,429 on Monday, state health minister advised the citizens to wear masks to avoid any possible contraction of infection. A day after recording 1,494 cases on Sunday, the daily caseload dropped to 1,036 on Monday. This has been attributed to the plunge in testing in the weekend from 25,994 to 15,988 in the last 48 hours.
Following a cabinet meeting, Tope said that testing will be increased, which currently stands at 25,000. He also clarified that as the rate of hospitalisation is below 1 per cent, the state has no plans to impose restrictions.
“We have discussed masking implementations but it will not be made mandatory so people will not be penalised like before. But it is advised to wear masks in crowded places and while travelling for their own safety and their loved ones,” he said.
When asked about the five-fold surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, Tope claimed that the BA.4 and BA.5–the new variants of Omicron, which are considered more transmissible as the reason behind the surge.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
He also emphasised on getting the precautionary dosage also as called third dose. “Many of the beneficiaries have taken the vaccines nine months prior so, it is advisable to get the third dose. As it is choice-based, people can’t be forced but it will be for their own precaution,” he added.
The Indian Express had reported on June 3 that out of the 36 districts in the state, 11 haven’t administered a single dose in the age group between 18-59 years in Maharashtra.
To address the issue, Soumitra Ghosh from School of Health Systems Studies, TISS voiced to make the precautionary dosages free for patients with severe comorbidities, which would encourage them in getting vaccinated. “If we are heading towards a possible fourth wave, then it is essential that on priority the state administers the third dose to the vulnerable communities. For this, the state should make the dose free of cost for this group,” Ghosh said.

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ژوئن 3, 2022

From coercion to swindle to China link: The menace of rising loan app scams

When a 22-year-old Zepto employee Sohail Shaikh recently needed some money, a “Magicloan” ad on YouTube for instant micro loans came to his mind. On April 24, he ended up taking a loan of Rs 6,000 from two apps, “Magicloan” and “cashmarket”.
“I was supposed to pay them back on April 30. I would get my salary on May 1, so I thought I would return it a day later. Their (loan apps) people however started calling me on April 29. I told them about the payment deadline but it didn’t matter — they were abusive,” Shaikh told The Indian Express.

His ordeal had just started, though. “A day later, some of my colleagues and relatives called me saying they received a photograph of my wife with obscene things scrawled on it. I was shocked as to how could they get her photo and their numbers. And then I realised they had access to all my phone data. I had to explain to everyone that I had taken a small loan and these people were loan agents. It was traumatic,” he said.
On April 14, a 24-year-old woman from Mumbai’s Charkop lodged an FIR in the Kandivali (West) police station, alleging that cyber fraudsters called her from 25 different mobile numbers and threatened to defame her if she did not repay a loan, which she had never taken, and forced her to pay Rs 4.50 lakh. They also sent obscene messages about her to many people in her contacts list including her family members and friends. Her cousin sister even received a WhatsApp message which tagged her number and photo as that of a sex worker.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
“Those 15-20 days were most horrible days of my life. Police asked me to switch off my phone but fraudsters sent obscene messages to 150 people in my contacts list, mostly family members. They only made WhatsApp calls. When my uncle tried to make a normal call to them, an old woman in Karnataka took it. They were using her number for their WhatsApp,” she said.
Mumbai Police has lodged 47 loan app fraud cases during March-April, of which it could crack only 1 case. It had filed 42 such cases during the entire last year, cracking 5 of them.
While the loan app scam cases have been reported from across the country, there have been cases in Maharashtra and Telangana of their victims being driven to even suicide. At least 8 such victims killed themselves in Telangana over the last one-and-a-half years.
The modus operandi of these scamsters has been that they offer “hassle free” micro loans through online apps, which do not check a borrower’s credit worthiness or seek any documents while immediately transferring money to his account. It is this “no questions asked” method of these apps as against traditional lending institutions seeking rigorous verification and background checks that have made them popular among people.

Their popularity rose especially during the Covid pandemic, when many people lost their livelihood and were in desperate need of money to meet their day-to-day expenses. However, according to several police officers and cyber experts, those seeking loans through these apps now include corporate employees looking for additional money at the end of a month or youngsters needing money to buy virtual currency.
Cyber expert Ritesh Bhatia said that since the demand for micro credit has dipped now, there have been several cases where these operators have demanded money from people even if they have just downloaded their apps. “In some cases, if you have taken a loan once, they will push another loan from some other app. Also, on occasions, they demand money once you have downloaded the app, since they have access to your contacts now. The app is developed in such a way that once you download it, it gives the loan companies complete access to the phone data. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t availed of a loan from the app,” Bhatia said.
What many who are lured by the easy credit availability do not know or fail to check is the fudge relating to the interest rates charged and the recovery mechanism. In some cases, when people read the interest rate on their loans as 0.8%, they miss that it is a daily rate, Bhatia said. “There have been cases where people have ended up paying as much as 66% interest.”
A Mumbai cyber police officer said even the GST is deducted from the loan amount. “And within a week, you start getting calls seeking repayment of these loans,” he said. This is where the victims’ harassment begins as recovery agents enter the scene.
An officer said that when people install these apps on their phones, they generally do not realise that they are also giving access to their phone data to them. “So, when the person is not able to make the payment, the recovery agents have access to the numbers of their family members, relatives, colleagues and friends. They call them up claiming that they were appointed the loan guarantor. It is to pressure them to ensure the borrower makes the payment.”

However, Bhatia said some recovery agents have resorted to “dirty tricks” now. They use nude pictures or porn clips to morph the borrower’s image and then send it to the victim’s family members, relatives and friends.
It was such a murky operation that allegedly forced the Malad-based imitation jewellery businessman Sandeep Koregaonkar, 38, to die by suicide on May 4 after he found that his morphed photos were sent to his loved ones, the police said. His family said he had not taken any loans and just downloaded the apps.
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It was Koregaonkar’s suicide that forced Mumbai Police to wake up to severe harassment involved in these cases. Its preliminary investigations led them to some call centres, linked to such apps, operating primarily out of Delhi and Noida among other places across the country.
In another recent case of sexual harassment being probed by the Andheri railway police, there were 170 calls made to a Dombivli-based victim. After she could not make the loan payment, her morphed video was sent to her cousin sister on WhatsApp, who then approached the police. A 19-year-old man was picked up from Karnataka as his phone was used to send this obscene content. The police later learnt that the fraudsters had used his number to activate their WhatsApp and that the loan app, owned by two Kerala businessmen, had outsourced their database of borrowers to a Delhi-based call centre for recovering loans for a commission.
The police have also found that some of these micro loan apps are “Chinese loan apps developed by Chinese nationals”. In such cases busted across the country, it was found that the accused, after collecting money from victims, would convert it into cryptocurrency and send it to China, said a cyber police officer.
In several cases, the victims end up taking money from one loan app to save themselves from other app’s harassment. In a case being probed by Mumbai’s BKC cyber police station, a company’s senior executive took a total of Rs 1 lakh loan from 10 apps. Within days she received 80 calls from Delhi, Noida and other places in states like Meghalaya and Andhra Pradesh. In her case too, the fraudsters sent her obscene videos and threatened to defame her, forcing her to cough up Rs 12 lakh.

What has made the police investigations more challenging is that in most of these cases the scamsters have taken “precautions” to cover their tracks. In the senior company executive case, when the police tried to trace the account where she was asked to make a payment, they found it belonged to another borrower.
An independent director at the Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment (FACE), Srinath Sridharan, said that for common people it is “very difficult” to distinguish between the genuine RBI-affiliated loan apps and fraudulent ones. “RBI has complicated the rules so much that it is confusing to differentiate between authorised and unauthorised apps,” he said.
Sridharan said in its 2021 report the RBI’s working group on digital lending had made several recommendations to curb this menace, which were however not implemented. “The only solution is that RBI conduct digital supervision of NBFCs to ensure that none of them are involved in lending through these unauthorised apps,” he added.
Recently, with such frauds on the rise, Google came out with more stringent guidelines (see Box) allowing only those loan apps on its Play Store that are registered with the RBI. Bhatia, however, said it would not make much of a difference as the accused would create apps and put up links on their websites and send them to their victims’ WhatsApp or Telegram accounts to be downloaded. The police as well as cyber experts stressed on the need for raising public awareness against such dubious loan apps.