CALCUTTA, May 16: Sanchaita Investments, promoted to by Shambhu Mukherjee and Tapan Guha, came into prominence in the mid-seventies offering sky-high rates of 48 per cent to depositors.

A bulk of the funds was deployed in contraband or illegal activity. Its agent network for mobilisation was mainly active in the colliery belt of Ranigunj and Asansol.

The fraud was detected in 1979 when a lot of depositors complained about non-payment of dues. Ashok Mitra, the finance minister of West Bengal at the time, received complaints against Sanchaita and observed that ``the company was not functioning normally''.

The case was taken up as a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court. Chief justice Y Chandrachud, while dismissing the plea, observed that the petition had insufficient data/evidence and that it did not comply with the legal requirements.

Subsequently, Shambhu Mukherjee committed suicide. The company was finally wound up in early eighties.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.