Hindustan Pencils Private Limited — Nataraj Pencil Packing Work from Home Fraud

Address:	Nataraj Pencil Packing Work from Home Fraud
Website:	www.hindustanpencils.com

Complainant- Ms. Prachi Hasija

Accused Persons- Manjeet Singh S/o Rai Singh, aged about 31 years R/o Silana (259), Jhajjar, Jhajjar, Haryana- 124103
Sahil Sharma aged about 35 years having Phone No.- [protected]
Gouthre Raj Kumar
Pawan Kumar Pandey, Seelampur, New Delhi- 110053
Mukesh Sharma
Vinay Agggarwal
Hindustan Pencils Pvt. Ltd. having its Head Office at 510, Himalaya House, Palton Road, Mumbai- 400001, India
SBM Bank (India) Ltd. having its Head Office at Mumbai 306 - A, The Capital, G block, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051, Maharashtra and its branch office at 101, Raheja Centre 1st Floor, Free Press Journal Road, Narimanpoint Mumbai 400021
And other unknown persons.

That it is on 14.02.2022 that the Complainant for the first time learned about the fraud business being run by the Accused persons on Facebook. That the contents of the said Facebook post provided for a work from home opportunity for packing of pens and pencil boxes belonging to Nataraj Company. That for the said purpose the Accused persons were required to deliver 15 day’s worth material belonging to Nataraj Company at the address provided by the Applicants and the Applicants on receiving the said material were required to pack the same into boxes and deliver it to the Accused persons.

That it was stated by the Accused persons that the Applicants will also be provided an advance of Rs. 15, 000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand Only) and thereafter were to be provided Rs. 10 (Rupees Ten Only) for each box packed by the Applicant. That the total amount to be paid was to be based on the total boxes packed by the Applicant after deducting the amount paid as advance by the said Accused Persons representing themselves as the agents of Nataraj Company. That after the completion of work the Applicants were also provided an option to order more material in the future from the said Accused persons who apparently are the employees/agents of Nataraj Company and the said material ordered can be over and above the 15 days period as provided earlier. It is important to note herein that the Accused persons are duly using the name of Nataraj Company (Hindustan Pencils Pvt. Ltd.) for their illegal motives and there are numerous posts similar to the post seen by the Complainant on various social media platforms providing for work from home packing jobs and luring the Applicants to invest their hard-earned money for their illegal motives. That the Applicants investing their hard-earned money were duly assured that the said amount invested will be refunded to the Applicants by the delivery boy on the date of delivery.
That after learning about the said work from home opportunity on 14.02.2022, the Complainant herein sent a whatsapp message to the Accused persons on the number [protected] for applying for the said work which was immediately responded to by one of the Accused persons. Thereafter, the Accused persons started calling the Complainant on a regular basis and it was only on 18.02.2022 that the Complainant answered the call received from one of the Accused persons. That during the said call the Accused person talking to the Complainant asked the Complainant to send its documents which includes Aadhaar Card, Pan Card and passport size photo and also to transfer Rs. 750/- (Rupees Seven Hundred and Fifty Only) on account of registration and preparation of joint holder account of the Complainant. It is important to note herein that the Complainant was also asked to share with the Accused Persons screen shots showing the transaction being complete and amount transferred in the account the details of which are mentioned hereinabove. That the said amount Rs. 750/- (Rupees Seven Hundred and Fifty Only) to be paid by the Complainant was apparently a discount provided by one namely Sahil Sharma (Staff Manager) of Nataraj Company and who had also provided his ID Card to the Complainant over Whatsapp. That the said ID Card of Mr. Sharma clearly mentions his contact details and also clearly mentions the name of Nataraj Pencil which proves that the name of the Company was being by the Accused persons used to carry out the illegal activities. That it was stated by Mr. Sahil Sharma that the Applicants who wish to do the said work are required to pay an amount of Rs. 1, 050 (Rupees One Thousand and Fifty Only) and the Complainant herein was being provided a special discount. That being duped by the same the Complainant 20.02.2022 paid an amount of Rs. 750/- (Rupees Seven Hundred and Fifty Only) from the Canara Bank Account bearing No.[protected] in the bank account details as provided by the Accused persons. That the payments made to the Accused persons are apparent from the bank account details of the Complainant and the amount was paid in the account provided by the Accused persons the details of which are mentioned hereinbelow-

Bank Name: SBM Bank
Name: Gouthre Raj Kumar
Bank Account Number: [protected]
IFSC Code: STCB0000065

That thereafter, on 20.02.2022 itself another voice call was received by the Complainant wherein one of the Accused persons asked the Complainant to make a payment of Rs. 2, 500/- (Rupees Two Thousand and Five Hundred Rupees Only) as security towards the salaried. That on refusal of the Complainant to pay the said amount, the said Accused Person threatened the Complainant that in case of failure to transfer the said amount, the salary will not be credited for the work done by the Complainant and further, the amount already paid shall be forfeited and transferred to an NGO. Also, the Complainant was being told that the payment of said amount is mandatory and in terms of the rules of the Nataraj Company which were at no point of time provided to the Complainant despite being asked on several occasions and further, an assurance was also given that the said amount will be refunded to the Complainant at the time of delivery. That once again being duped by the assurance given by the Accused persons the Complainant paid the said amount in the abovementioned bank account belonging to one of the Accused persons.

That for the refund of the abovementioned amount and for the delivery of the necessary material belonging to Nataraj Company, the Complainant was to be provided with the contact number of the delivery boy by the Accused persons. That a contact number [protected] which apparently belongs to the delivery person was provided to the Complainant. That thereafter, the Complainant was being informed that the delivery person along with the concerned material has left from Uttam Nagar, Delhi for Complainant’s residence being the delivery address provided to the Accused persons.

That after sometime, the Complainant once again received a call from the said delivery boy of the Accused persons stating that the GPS of the truck which was being used to deliver the said material has stopped and a sum was required to be paid by Complainant to revive the said GPS of the truck carrying the material belonging to Nataraj Company. That a serious objection with respect to the said amount for the revival of the GPS system to be paid by the Complainant was raised as the said truck belongs to the Accused persons and apparently carried the material belonging to Nataraj Company. That once again the Complainant was assured that the said amount will be refunded by the delivery boy at the time of delivery of material as stated hereinabove. It is imperative to mention herein that the said delivery person was allegedly carrying an amount to the tune of Rs. 50, 000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand Only) alongwith Nataraj Company’s credit card with him for refunding the said amount to the Complainant. That on being asked the amount to be paid to the concerned Accused person, he did not deliberately mention that the same was to paid separately that is Rs. 6, 100/- (Rupees Sixty One Hundred Only) plus Rs. 99/- (Rupees Ninety Nine Only) and the Complainant herein had paid collectively an amount of Rs. 6, 200/- (Rupees Sixty Two Hundred Only) to the Accused persons in the abovementioned bank account. That an objection was raised by the Accused persons on the amount collectively being paid to the Accused persons and to which it was suggested that the same may be adjusted but same was blatantly refused by the Accused persons being against the rules of the Company and the Complainant was asked to pay the said amount once again on the assurance that the same may be refunded at the time of delivery.

That the fraudulent activities of the Accused persons had not stopped at this juncture. After, a few minutes on the same day another call was received by the Complainant to deposit an amount of Rs. 12, 500/- (Rupees Twelve Thousand and Five Hundred Rupees Only) towards the GST of the goods belonging to the Nataraj Company. That it is noteworthy herein that the payment of GST towards the goods is solely the responsibility of the Company but in this case the Complainant was asked to pay the said amount. Moreover, on being asked by the Complainant, no GSTN Number whatsoever was provided by the Accused persons. Further, on serious objections being raised by the Complainant, the Accused person namely Manjeet Singh provided its Aadhaar Card bearing No.[protected] along with pan card bearing No. CXJPS6916D to the Complainant and also provided an assurance that the said amount was to be refunded at the time of delivery. That the said charging of illegal amounts and the refund procedure was clearly stated to be in terms of the rules of the Company which were at no point of time provided to the Complainant. That the Complainant being trapped in the threats of the Accused persons and for fear of its amount paid being forfeited paid an amount of Rs. 12, 500/- (Rupees Twelve Thousand and Five Hundred Rupees Only) to the Accused persons in the abovementioned bank account.

That once again after a few minutes a call was received by the Complainant from the Accused persons demanding further illegal payment towards the delivery charge. That an amount of Rs. 14, 449/- (Rupees Fourteen Thousand Four Hundred and Forty Nine Only) was demanded towards the hard work of the delivery person for delivery the material belonging to the Nataraj Company at the residence of the Complainant. That at this juncture the Complainant seriously objected and demanded for the rules of the Company, receipt for the payments made and also asked for the current location of the said delivery person. That after hearing the said demands of the Complainant, the Accused persons became aggressive and started using abusive language and further, threatened the Complainant with threats relating to the forfeiture of the said amount. That the Complainant under threat of the Accused persons paid a payment of Rs. 15, 000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand Only) which was over and above the amount claimed by the Accused persons but rather that adjusting the said amount towards the amount claimed, the Accused persons used abusive language and asked to make a payment once again of the exact figure that is Rs. 14, 449/- (Rupees Fourteen Thousand Four Hundred and Forty Nine Only). That it is pertinent to mention herein that it was only at this juncture that an objection towards the exact figure was raised by the Accused persons being in terms of the imaginary rules and regulations that to of Nataraj Company. That an objection was not raised by the Accused persons at an earlier occasion wherein the Company had paid an amount of Rs. 2, 500/- (Rupees Two Thousand and Five Hundred Only) contrary to the claimed amount of Rs. 2, 499 (Rupees Two Thousand Four Hundred and Ninety Nine Only) and there was no response from the Accused persons when the said objection was raised with them. That from the abovementioned facts the illegal activities of the Accused persons are crystal clear.

That after the abovementioned payments being made by the Complainant towards the delivery nothing remained towards the delivery of goods. Even after this the goods were not delivered and further illegal demands were being raised which had no concern whatsoever with the delivery of goods. It is important to note herein that one point of time due to the continuous objections being raised by the Complainant, the Accused persons in clear terms stated that no payment whatsoever will be released by the Complainant if the goods are delivered to the Complainant. It is for this reason that continuous illegal amounts were being raised by the Accused persons without delivery of any material/ goods whatsoever. That at this point another illegal demand not related to the delivery of goods was being raised by the Accused persons. That an amount was being raised for preparation of a payment slip for the release of refund amount to the Complainant towards the illegal payments being made to the Accused persons. That on this account an amount of Rs. 21, 500/- (Rupees Twenty One Thousand and Five Hundred Rupees Only) was sought from the Complainant. That serious objections were being raised by the Complainant for payment being demanded towards preparation of payment slip which is totally concerned with the Complainant and no amount whatsoever can be raised on the said account by the Accused persons. That the Complainant at this juncture was assured that the delivery of goods shall take place within a span of 10 minutes after the transferring of the said amount and also that the said amount was to be duly refunded by the Nataraj Company. That once again on the said assurance of the Accused persons the Complainant paid an amount of Rs. 21, 500/- (Rupees Twenty One Thousand and Five Hundred Rupees Only).
That after a few minutes of transferring the said amount another illegal demand was being raised by the Accused persons for payment towards the mail amount to the tune of Rs. 25, 000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand Only) and the said amount was to be paid for release of the goods to the Complainant which is clearly baseless. That at this point of the time the payment was denied to the Accused persons as the Complainant had no funds left for the payment towards the illegal demands of the Accused persons. The Accused persons were repeatedly asked to deliver the said goods and the payment was to be cleared on receipt of goods but no heed was paid to the same by the Accused persons as there was no intention whatsoever to deliver the said goods and all of this was game play on the part of the Accused persons to dupe the Complainant of its hard earned money.

That since the abovementioned amount has been denied to the Accused persons, the Complainant has been receiving calls from the Accused persons wherein threats have been hurled towards the Complainant and its family members by the Accused persons. That it was on the said day that is 21.02.2022 after giving numerous threats to the Complainant succumbed to its threats and admitted the duping of money from the innocent people. That on the said date the Accused persons had assured that the entire amount shall be personally be refunded by the head of Nataraj Company namely Mr. Pawan Kumar Pandey personally to the Complainant by 9:00am on 22.02.2022. However, till the present date no amount whatsoever has been refunded by the Accused persons to the Complainant.

That it is important to mention herein that the said illegal racket including the Accused persons herein is spread all over the country and it is necessary for the same to curbed in order to duping of hard earned money of the innocent people. That numerous complaints have been registered against the said business of packing of pen and pencil boxes of Nataraj and towards the illegal duping of money in name of proving work from home opportunities and handsome money. Further, some of threatening calls of the Accused persons demanding illegal money have been recorded by the Complainant. That from the abovementioned facts, it is apparent that the Complainant has been duped of its hard earned money and the same requires an action not only against the said Accused persons but also against all the members who are a part of this racked and are spread all over the country.

That it is also important to note herein that the responsibility is equally cast on Hindustan Pencils Pvt. Ltd. and the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) for being parties to the said offence.

That the total consolidated amount to be recovered is mentioned hereinbelow:-
Registration Fees: Rs. 750/-
Security towards salaries: Rs. 2, 500/-
Resumption of GPS system: Rs. 12, 400/-
GST towards goods: Rs. 12, 500/-
Delivery amount wrongly paid: Rs. 15, 000/-
Delivery amount: Rs. 14, 499/-
Payment towards preparation of slip: Rs. 21, 500/-
Total Amount: Rs. 79, 149/-