Sameer Joshi stages ‘tearful drama’ to avoid interrogation

Sameer Joshi and Pallavi Joshi 

• Crime branch sleuth still clueless about money gulped by fraudster director of Shree Surya Company 
• Last minutes property deals under scanner 

By Dheeraj Fartode

Sameer Joshi, who had collected vast sums by promising high returns to investors, has adopted a new strategy of delaying investigations and frustrate any attempt to dig out any information, by staging drama of repentance and grief before crime branch sleuths.

According to sources, from Thursday afternoon, when his wife Pallavi also surrendered before the court, Sameer is in tears and has refused to take food. Infact he had requested for home cooked food and an application was also filed in the court on Monday, but before it could be decided his better-half and director of Shree Surya Pallavi Joshi also surrendered and was sent to central prison for 15 days.

Police Inspector and Investigation Officer of the case Vishnu Bhoye told ‘The Hitavada’ that cops will demand Police Custody of Pallavi Joshi on November 6 for further interrogation. However, very little headway has been made in tracing the money and cops are in search of money trail and some of trusted employees and senior managers of Shree Surya, who have vanished into thin air after arrest of their boss with all minute details of investment. Cops are still not ready to believe that entire money was spent on opulence, lavish parties and posh vehicles since the cash component deposited by thousands of persons has not been accounted for and so far Joshi had not divulged anything about this sum and its possible destination including one of his close friend based on Nairobi.

Sameer, who is currently in police custody, was taken to Anjangaon Surji for investigation on Wednesday. Shreesurya has an oil company at Anjangaon Surji. Estimated value of the oil company is Rs 2 crore, Registrar informed the EOW officers. EOW is also probing the links of the scam that is spread as far as Gujarat and other neighbouring states. Sources informed that Joshi couple had friendly relations with many prominent political leaders and many of these leaders are learnt to have parked their money.

The officials added they had identified more than 100 agents who used to work for Joshi for spreading his schemes. The agents hail from Amravati, Nagpur, Yavatmal and Wardha district. The agents were lured by the fraudster by promising them incredible incentives on number of investors they registered for group's various schemes. EOW can interrogated the agents also.

The Crime branch has also received complaints about use of muscle power by some politically influential persons who apparently used high-handed tactics to recover their money parked with Joshi. In one particular case, a part of shopping mall owned by Joshi was forcibly transferred by a political leader in the name of one of his lesser known associate. One of the hard-core criminal who was recently sentenced for life, had threatened Sameer Joshi with dire consequences and he meekly signed on dotted lines and transferred the property to this leader. Interestingly, adopting modus operandi of other fraudsters like Jayant Jhambre, Joshi had also transferred same piece of property to many people who are now forced to fight a bitter legal fight among themselves.