Risk hai toh ishq hai (Taking risks is an integral part of love). A web series on the life of stock market scamster Harshad made this quote popular among the public last year. Many of those who earlier did not know the ‘Big Bull’ learnt about him. But neither the web series exposing Mehta’s wrongdoings nor timely warnings through advertisements issued by the government about many financial scams have managed to stop common investors from taking ill-advised risks and falling into the traps of these swindlers.
The latest such incident has come to the fore in Barshi area of Maharashtra’s Solapur district. A person named Vishal Fate, being called the Harshad Mehta of Barshi, has been accused of swindling crores of rupees from rich and educated people on the pretext of doubling their money in three months. Vishal runs an investment company called Alka Services in Barshi. Through this and two other companies, he allegedly conned investors.
Those who have lost money include government officials, doctors and businessmen.
Three months ago, Vishal allegedly announced that a person investing Rs 10 lakh would get Rs 6 crore after a year. After this, many interested people showed up. Vishal purportedly told investors that he is an expert of the financial market and invests money after doing proper research and applying algorithms. He apparently gave some investors good returns that drew others into his web.
Vishal allegedly switched off his cellphone on January 9 after getting…
