The complainant, Firoz Hasan Shaikh, had invested a total Rs1.53 crore between March 5 and 10, 2020, with the accused. It is the state’s case that Shaikh’s friends Riyaz Inamdar, Rafique Ansari, Baba Shaikh Abdul Kampali also invested Rs25 lakh, Rs15 lakh and another Rs15 lakh, respectively, in cash and another person, Abdul Basit, invested Rs53 lakh. Based on Shaikh’s complaint, the Kondhwa police registered a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPIC) Act. A sessions court in Pune on May 8, 2024, rejected Attar’s bail application, prompting him to move the high court for relief through his lawyer Aashutuosh Srivastava. After hearing either side, the HC bench of Justice Shivkumar Dige held on Jan 30, “The allegations against the applicant (Attar) are that he received Rs10 lakh in his bank account from the co-accused. The applicant has deposited said amount (with the court registry) to show his bona fide.” “The applicant is behind bars for more than one year and nine months. There is no progress in the trial. To show involvement of the applicant in the crime, evidence is required. There are no allegations against the applicant indicating that he induced the first informant (Shaikh) and other investors to invest money in the company,” the bench noted. The bench directed Attar’s release on bail on his furnishing PR bond of Rs25,000 with one or two solvent sureties in the like amount. The court has restrained him from tampering with the evidence and/or influencing the prosecution witnesses and that he shall report to the police station as and when summoned by the police.
