The scamster will be released after spending eight years in jail
Nagpur: Justice Anil Kilor at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has granted bail to applicant Prashant Jaydev Wasankar in all the criminal cases registered against him including at Amravati and two at Nagpur, in view of eight-year long incarceration since July 27, 2014.
It was urged before the court that the applicant had already suffered a lot being kept in custody for so long. Actually he has already undergone sentences assigned to the offences said to have been committed by him under Sections 420, 406 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) etc. Perhaps till date, no one has suffered more than six years for the offence of Section 409 of the IPC.
Strongly opposing grant of bail, APP Vinod Thakare submitted that the applicant was the mastermind behind all the reported or unreported cases of financial swindling. Matter remained pending for trial and despite the High Court expediting the trial on four occasions, prosecution could not complete the trial prolonging Wasankar’s period of incarceration. Adv Deven Chauhan assisted by Adv Gaurav Gaur appeared for the applicant.
On May 9, 2014, builder Vivek Pathak had registered an FIR at Ambazari Police Station against Wasankar Wealth Management Ltd and its Directors for committing a huge financial fraud and having duped investors to the tune of several crores of rupees.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW ) of Nagpur Police had charged Wasankar and others with duping 852 investors and pegged the amount involved at Rs 230 crore, which the EOW believed was merely tip of the iceberg. Offences under Section 3 of the Maharashtra Protection of Investors and Depositors Act read with Sections 406, 420, 468, 471, 120(b) of the IPC had been registered at Nagpur, Amravati, and Akola by aggrieved investors after Wasankar started default and did not honour his promise of astronomical returns.
Prashant Wasankar was arrested on July 27, 2014 in connection with crimes registered at Nagpur and subsequently in Amravati. The bail application was filed initially before the special judge at Nagpur, who rejected bail on the ground that earlier also bail applications were rejected and therefore there was no change in circumstances which could be considered for granting bail to Prashant Wasankar.
