BI(EO) Arrests 4 Directors of Spark Fashion Consumer Marketing Pvt Ltd

GUWAHATI: The Bureau of Investigation of (Economic Offences) {BI(EO)} arrested all the four directors of Spark Fashion Consumer Marketing Pvt Ltd, Jonali, RG Baruah Road, Guwahati on the charge of, what the BI(EO) said, cheating a large number of youths with false promises by taking the advantage of their vulnerability.

According to BI(EO), since its inception in 2014, Spark Fashion has been recruiting educated youths in some fake jobs and cheating consumers with low-cost garments charging high cost. So far, Spark Fashion has collected around Rs 3 crore, the BI(EO) said. They recruit youths as agents only through advertisements in social media.

The modus operandi being followed by the company, according to BI(EO) SP Shyamal Prasad Saikia is – it (the company) charges Rs 1,000 from a recruiting agent as registration fee. After becoming an agent, the company charges Rs 6,776 from him/her against three items of low-quality garments of the company. The agents have to give five customers to the company so as to get a commission.

“It’s clear that they’ve been intentionally cheating over 6,000 unemployed youths by indulging in false promises and taking advantage of their vulnerability,” BI(EO) SP Shyamal Prasad Sakia said while addressing the press on Tuesday.

“Finding faults with the marketing business that is being run in a chain system, we called all the four directors of Spark Fashion to appear before us on November 27, 2018. However, they did not turn up. When they came to us on December 3, we grilled them leading to their arrest,” the SP said.

According to the SP, the four directors of the company are Rajesh Kumar Shah (33) hailing from Chandigarh, Shubha Chandra Rai (27) hailing from Gangtok, Prakash Gurung (29) hailing from Nepal and Sanjib Kumar Deka (30) hailing from Geeta Nagar in Guwahati.

They were arrested following a case (BIEO PS Case No 27/2018 u/s 120B/420/406 IPC read with Section 4/5/6 of PC & MCS (B) Act, 1978) registered against the company by Khiren Kalita, who was cheated by the company.

In another cheating case, the BI(EO) arrested another fraud, Arunava Saha, from Silchar on December 2 for cheating consumers through a company – Speak Asia Online Business. According to the BI(EO), Saha fraudulently collected Rs 47.34 lakh. He was arrested in connection with a case filed against him in 2015.