Mumbai, Nov 5 (PTI) A Mumbai court recently ordered the release of two Chhattisgarh residents in a cryptocurrency investment fraud case, declaring their arrest “illegal” as police did not follow mandatory procedures.
The magistrate also directed that a copy of his order be forwarded to the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) for “information and necessary action” against the lapses by the investigating agency.
While directing the release of the two men, the magistrate clarified that “if their arrest remains absolutely necessary”, the police may take steps strictly in accordance with the law and Supreme Court guidelines.
Following their arrests, accused Vedprakash Kunjalal Sahu (33) and Daulat Singh Dulardas Sahu (45) were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class (Kurla court) S M Gourgond on November 2, with the police seeking their remand for 10 days.
As per police, the duo, along with other wanted accused representing a firm named ‘Flow X Protocol Pvt Ltd’, lured a 30-year-old Kurla-based stock and crypto trader into investing in USDT (a cryptocurrency) by promising him a monthly return of 45 per cent.
They showed him forged registration documents and fake certificates from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to gain his trust and collected Rs 7.50 lakh in cash between February and August this year, police said.
When the complainant neither received the promised returns nor his principal amount, he approached Kurla police, following which an FIR was registered under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 318(2) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), and 336(3) (forgery) and provisions of Information Technology Act.
The accused were picked from Goa, where they were allegedly organising an investment seminar, and placed under arrest on November 2.
Defence advocates Shriganesh Sawalkar and Adira Tandan opposed the remand, arguing that police had violated mandatory provisions under sections 35(3) (notice of appearance before police officer) and 48 (obligation of person making arrest to inform about the arrest to a nominated person) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Accepting the defence’s contention, the court noted that the offences against the duo attract a maximum punishment of up to seven years in jail, making compliance with Supreme Court guidelines mandatory.
Further, the magistrate underlined that although the accused were taken into custody in Goa, the investigating officer failed to produce them before the nearest local magistrate to obtain a mandatory transit remand, violating a recent Bombay High Court ruling.
“The concerned Investigating Officer has not complied with mandatory requirements under Section 35(3) and 48 of the BNSS. Therefore, the arrest is not a legal one,” the magistrate remarked.
The court also declined the prosecution’s plea to invoke Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, holding that offences under the Act are exclusively triable by a special court. PTI AVI BNM
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