The Telangana High Court has granted conditional bail to Nowhera Shaik, managing director of Heera group, in cases lodged against her in Telangana alleging that she had defrauded investors by collecting deposits.
According to state police, about Rs 5,600 crore have been cheated from around 1.72 lakh investors across the country by the Heera group of companies.
The High Court transferred the ongoing investigation into the cases from the state police to the New Delhi-headquartered Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
While granting the conditional bail, the court asked Nowhera Shaik to deposit an amount of Rs 5 crore as surety. It also placed travel restrictions on her, asked her to surrender her passport, and instructed her not to leave the country without the court’s approval. She also has to regularly report to the police station.
Justice Ghandikota Sri Devi pronounced the judgment on Monday in cases filed by Nowhera Shaik and Heera Gold Exim Private Limited seeking a stay on all further proceedings in FIRs registered against her and Heera group of companies in the state.
Her counsel also appealed that the court issue directions releasing her.
A copy of the judgment was not available with either party. One of the investigation officers told Deccan Chronicle that they had applied for a certified copy of the judgment. He said the police would challenge the High Court direction before the Supreme Court.
Alleging that Nowhera Shaik had cheated them by collecting deposits on promise of paying 36 per cent return, depositors had lodged complaints in various police stations across the state. 10 cases were lodged against her and Heera group for cheating and under sections of Telangana Deposits of Financial Establishment Act, 1999 and The Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
The state police arrested her on October 16, 2018. Since then, she has been in the Chanchalguda women’s jail, despite the lower courts granting her bail in some cases.
Other than the state police, Enforcement Directorate and SFIO also started investigation against Nowhera and Heera group. The Enforcement Directorate too registered FIRs. FIRs were further booked against Nowhera and Heera Group in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and other parts of the country.
