CHANDIGARH, July 11: After the CRB fiasco, several non-banking finance companies of Chandigarh have vanished from the scene duping gullible investors of crores of rupees. One such company against the police have launched investigations is Woodstar Plantations which had collected several crores of rupees from investors on the promise of returns of 24 per cent interest.

The fraud came to light in May 1997 itself when several cheques issued by the company to investors pertaining to principle and interest money bounced.

The economic offences wing officials of police here said that several investors approached the police when cheques bounced but the chairman of the company, one Avtar Singh took back cheques from these investors and gave them cash and obtained receipts in lieu of that. After that the investors withdrew the complaints.

However, soon the investors were in for a bigger shock when post dated cheques issued to hundreds of them were returned by the banks for "insufficient funds" in the account of the company which issued the cheque.

When these investors visited the office premises of the company in sector 22 in the second week of June, 1996 they found these locked. The police has failed to trace this man so far.

Another company that has vanished from scene after collecting huge deposits from investors is Kalyani Agro Tech India which had opened an office with much fanfare in posh Sector 34 of Chandigarh. This company too had promised to pay the interest of about 25 per cent alongwith some other incentives.

According to economic offences wing of Chandigarh police, the modus operandi of this company was also similar. It issued post dated cheques in lieu of the deposits and the interest to be accrued thereon. The company was promoted by one Harish Dutta of Chandigarh.

On June 22, 1996 this company also locked its premises and vanished from the scene. Interestingly the landlord where the company chairman Harish Dutta had rented a house alleged that the company had failed to pay rent for the last six months and hence he had retained the furniture etc in lieu of the rent due.

Yet another company duped gullible public on the promise of arranging loans of upto Rs 3 crore in US $. It demanded a fee of Rs one lakh from each of the interested businessman as fee and later decamped with funds locking up its office.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.