No relief: Court denies bail to doctor accused in Rs 35 crore online investment scam

Srinagar: Noting that the investigation is still at an early and sensitive stage, a local court in Kangan has rejected the bail plea of a doctor along with three others accused in a large-scale online investment scam, in which they allegedly cheated several people out of Rs 35 crore by offering false promises of high returns.

The four accused allegedly benefited from the money taken from the victims, with each of them keeping portions of the defrauded amount in their bank accounts, as per the Kashmir News Trust investigation report. 

The accused are Shahnawaz Ahmad Shah, an employee of J&K Bank; his sister Rumesa Begum; his brother-in-law Dr Amir Bashir Magray, and his father Ghulam Nabi Sha.

Investigators discovered Rs 3.18 crore in the bank account of Shahnawaz Ahmad Shah, Rs 2 crore in Dr. Amir Bashir Magray’s account, Rs 18.27 crore in Rumesa Begum’s account, and Rs 9.29 crore in the account of Ghulam Nabi Shah.

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Dismissing their bail plea, Judicial Magistrate 1st Class Mufti Nahida observed, “The stage of investigation, the magnitude of the fraud, and the potential for tampering with digital and financial evidence make bail premature. Releasing the accused at this point could prejudice the ongoing investigation."

According to police, the group tricked people into investing money online by promising high returns. One of the victims, the complainant in the case, alleged that he was convinced by Shahnawaz to share personal documents and transfer Rs 5 lakh to an account linked to Shahnawaz’s father. Instead of receiving returns, the complainant noticed irregular activity, which led to the freezing of his bank account.

As per investigations reported by Kashmir News Trust, suspicious transactions totalling approximately Rs 35 crore were detected across multiple bank accounts linked to the accused after they were arrested under Sections 318(4), 316(5), and 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), reports Network KNT. 

After serving their time in jail, the accused filed a bail application. In response to this, Public Prosecutor Alyas Khawaja argued that the accused were operating an organised online scam involving the defrauding of individuals of large sums of money, constituting a serious economic offence undermining public trust and financial integrity. He submitted that granting bail at this stage would adversely affect the ongoing investigation and potentially lead to the tampering of evidence.

However, the accused's defence counsel claimed that the accused was being framed and that bail is a basic legal right. Therefore, they demanded that the court grant their bail application. 

Considering both sides, the court sided with the prosecution, referencing Supreme Court case law emphasising the special gravity attached to economic offences and accordingly dismissed the bail plea. 

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