According to Mukundraj Mudras, a resident of St Cruz, on hearing about the brand promotion on personal vehicles as well as taxis, he approached the company enquiring about the advertising offer. He was asked to make a security deposit of Rs 25,000 to promote any brand, by sticking a poster on his vehicle.
Suspecting something was wrong, Mukundraj said he immediately informed the Cybercrime PI Rajesh Job via email and PSI Laxi Amonkar over telephone on April 19.
“The Cybercrime police failed to act on the information provided to them about a suspected scam early on, which in turn has led to this embezzlement of huge amounts of people’s hard earned money,” claims Mukundraj Mudras.
Mukundraj said that he has a copy of the email, which was forwarded to the PI, cybercrime.
Further, Mukundraj said, he has recorded a recent telephonic conversation that he had with PSI Laxi Amonkar in which the PSI admits to visiting the branch office of All Brand Promotion at Patto, Panjim, sometime in April. However, the PSI claims in the recording that the office was closed when he visited and that he did not take further action.
Mukundraj said that when he checked the company’s website, it listed brands like Daewoo, Dodge and Mazda, which are either defunct or not having business operations in India. Besides, he said, advertising on vehicle exterior is banned by the Indian Motor Vehicle Act, which, he said, was a clear indication of the business being a fraud.
Meanwhile, Economic Offense Cell (EOC) of Goa Police has booked a case against the advertising firm under Section 406, 420 and 120-B of Indian Penal Code for duping ate least 300 Goan investors.
