A 48-year-old engineer, who was into share business, was arrested for allegedly cheating former Coal India Chairman G L Tandon, a Padma Bhushan awardee who died last year, of Rs five crore, police said today.
Sandeep Sehgal, a resident of Greater Kailash, was apprehended yesterday following investigations into a complaint filed on behalf of Tandon last November, a senior police official said.
Tandon had invested all his post retirement savings in the stock market through his demat account and Sehgal was managing it since 2005, Harendra Kumar Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (EoW), said.
Sehgal, who was working as a sub broker for M/s Apollo Sindhuri Capital Investment Ltd, became friendly with Tandon and allegedly lured him to hand over his entire share portfolio promising him 300 per cent return, Singh said.
However, Tandon did not get any dividend or bonus after 2008 and the Padma awardee contacted Sehgal who made him believe that that there was some problem with the server of National Securities and Depositary Ltd, the official said.
"To affirm his statement, Sehgal also handed over certain letters purported to be originating from the company which were later found to be forged.
"Sehgal had, in fact, transfered the share out of Tandon's account without his knowledge and consent. Sehgal managed to siphon off the whole amount to the tune of Rs five crore," he said.
He said detailed investigations were held in Delhi and Chennai before Sehgal was arrested.
Sehgal, a BTech who also did an MBA, is an alumni of Indian School of Mines. He is presently pursuing law from CCS University in Meerut.
Tandon has served mineral-based industries, including in the energy sector mainly coal, lignite, thermal and hydro based, for more than 50 years and was responsible for turnaround of several ailing units and record performances in Bengal Coal Company, Andrew Yule and Company, National Mineral Development Corporation, Neyveli Lignite Corporation and Coal India Ltd.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1986.
