Man abducted, assaulted in Gujarat (img: IANS)

Updated on Feb 19, at 1.27 p.m.

After awaiting a legal probe for more than eight years, an individual named Parmanand Shirvani from Anjar has filed an FIR at a police station in Bhuj, accusing his former employer and colleagues of cheating, kidnapping, illegal confinement, extortion, among other crimes committed against him and his wife.

18 individuals, including the managing director Shailesh Bhandari (MD) and other managers and employees of Electrotherm Ltd, a firm deemed to have a notorious past, have been named in the FIR.

Six police officers are also booked, including two IPS officers, three deputy superintendents of police (DSPs), and a police sub-inspector (PSI).

The FIR was filed over a Supreme Court order released on Jan 16, more than eight years after the incident took place.

Accused kidnapped, assaulted, and extorted money

Bhandari, and his paternal nephew, Mukesh Bhandari, had carved out a business plan to set up a firm and named Shirvani and his wife Khushi as directors. They had also prepared rent agreements under the name of the couple.

However, the Bhandari duo had planned to syphon off a hefty loan amount of ₹400 cr from the banks through fraudulent means and intended to kill the couple once the amount was reimbursed, according to the complaint.

Upon learning this, Shirvani resigned from his post along with his wife.

After this move, they were reportedly summoned to Ahmedabad by the Bhandari duo. While travelling, they were intercepted by the company’s security personnel and were allegedly abducted on Dec 1, 2015.

They were then held captive at different locations - a bungalow, office, and farmhouse belonging to Bhandaris - in Ahmedabad for five straight days.

Shirvani has accused them of frequently assaulting him while in captivity. His wife, Khushi, was forcefully made to sign on a blank paper to transfer properties and assets to their names.

They extorted ₹20 lakh in cash initially and then landed upon another ₹10 lakh. They also extorted gold worth ₹10 lakh and transferred ₹45 lakh from Khushi’s account. They transferred ownership of Shirvani’s sedan car and three dump trucks belonging to a witness in this case, Mukesh Kriplani.

Did the police side with the accused?

Shirvani had managed to escape from captivity after five days with assistance from a security guard.

He received medical treatment at Sola civil hospital, and the couple went to Adipur police station to register a complaint over the incident. However, Adipur police refused to file an FIR.

Shirvani took this issue up with the then Gujarat director general of police (DGP) and also filed a plea in the High Court.

He had noted that the police refused to register an FIR and has accused police of siding with the perpetrators.

He alleged that the cops affixed him with a complaint filed in Kutch’s Samakhiali instead to add to his plight.

His plea was heard before the HC, which directed him to file a case against all the accused.

Despite the HC’s order and sufficient evidence of kidnapping, two of the then superintendents of police (SPs) and three DySPs submitted a closure report and refused to file a case.

Meanwhile, Bhandari had also contested the HC’s plea in the Supreme Court and availed of a stay order against legal action.

Over the order passed in the latest SC hearing, a case was registered against 19 individuals at the Border zone CID crime cell.

The case against the two SPs has been transferred to Rajkot CID DySP for a thorough probe.

The accused include Shailesh and Anurag Bhandari (company owners), Sanjay Joshi (HR General Manager), Baldev Raval (security in-charge, Ahmedabad office), Amit Patvarika (account manager), Hitesh Soni (audit in-charge), Shridhar Mulchandani, Anil Dwivedi, and Bankat Somani (security personnel), Mahendra Patira, Pavan Gaur, Shivam Podar, and six other security personnel.

The police officers accused in this case include Adipur incumbent PSI NK Chauhan, DySP VJ Gadhvi, DySP DS Vaghela, DySP RD Desai, SP Gautam Barot, and SP Bhavna Patel.

Electrotherm’s murky past

In 2014, the central bureau of investigation (CBI) registered a case against central bank officials and Electrotherm’s directors over ₹436 cr of fraud.

In 2019, Mukesh Bhandari registered a complaint at CID crime against his brothers Shailesh and Nagesh over forging his signatures, taking a loan of ₹400 cr, and later laundering ₹100 cr out of it.

In 2021, Shailesh registered a case against his brother Mukesh and his sons Sidharth and Anurag for forcefully entering his Samakhiali plant despite removing them from the board of directors. Against this, Mukesh had registered a complaint against his brother for forcefully entering his Palodiya unit and hurting a security official.

In 2021, the goods and services tax (GST) department conducted raids at Shailesh Bhandari’s locations over bogus billing and tax evasion worth crores. When the team reached his Ahmedabad house to arrest him, they found eight live cartridges and 898 alcohol bottles, over which a complaint was registered at Vastrapur police station.

In 2022, the CBI registered a case against Shailesh, Mukesh, Avinash Bhandari, and Narendra Dalal, among others, for incurring losses to banks by using credit facilities from 2012 to 2016.

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