Pune: Two days after the Bombay High Court denied extension of interim relief, the police are yet to trace Pune developer Deepak S. Kulkarni and his wife, Hemanti, whom they believe have fled the city.
According to sources, the developer, accused of duping thousands of investors in Pune, Mumbai, and Kolhapur, filed an online petition in the Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking an extension of his interim relief.
On Tuesday, the High Court rejected extension of Mr. Kulkarni’s relief after the DSK Group failed to deposit ₹50 crore in the court registry within the stipulated fortnight. Mr. Kulkarni, who failed to turn up in court on Tuesday, has been missing ever since.
“It is now clear that DSK, who has been hoodwinking investors, has been lying to court as well. Despite submitting an affidavit on December 4, why hasn’t he surrendered after he failed to deposit ₹50 crore as directed by the court? Why have the police not yet arrested the others named in the FIRs against the developer, which include his son Shirish Kulkarni?” said Right to Information (RTI) activist Vijay Kumbhar, who has been spearheading the fight against the developer on behalf of investors.
Mr. Kumbhar hinted that the ‘delay’ in arresting the builder – despite investors protesting outside DSK Group offices for several months – smacks of political protection.
The economic offences wing, meanwhile, has identified 301 DSK Group properties to be attached. While these properties are being forensically audited, it remains to be seen as to how many of them are debt-free to yield investors their dues as a majority of the properties have been mortgaged to banks. A total of five FIRs in Pune, Mumbai and Kolhapur have been lodged against the developer and his family since October 28, with more than 3,000 investors filing cheating complaints against Mr. Kulkarni.
More than 8,000 people, a majority of them senior citizens, are said to have invested in the DSK Group’s fixed deposit scheme. The developer is said to owe more than ₹600 crore to investors.
On November 8, a special court in Pune had quashed the interim bail application of Mr. Kulkarni and his wife.
The Kulkarnis, facing arrest, had then moved the High Court against the Pune court’s order and were granted interim relief, which was extended periodically for nearly a month on promise of repayment to investors.
Following the increasing complaints, the builder on November 21 even made a surprise appearance before the media to reassure investors that all their money would be returned, even remarking that he is ‘not like Vijay Mallya to flee the country and live abroad’.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, too, assured depositors to retain trust in the builder, while remarking that Mr. Kulkarni is ‘no cheat’.
