Arrest clerics, celebrities for misleading us: Heera victims

Hyderabad: The All India Heera Victims Association on Friday demanded the arrest of clerics, politicians and scores of Bollywood actors who misled the investors in investing their hard-earned money in the 'ponzy scheme' of Heera Gold. The whistleblower and president of Association, Shahbaz Ahmed Khan, demanded the arrest of all 33 accused in Heera group's scam.

"Only three persons were arrested out of 33 accused in the case. About 3,000 Marketing Executives (MEs) & Direct Sales Agents (DSA) identified several clerics from India and abroad who misled the investors. They also identified several Bollywood actors and politicians, who are yet to be questioned by the investigative agencies, in spite of several cases being registered in Telangana, AP, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka," he noted.

Victims from other States

Ahmed Khan said that several agencies like ED, SFIO, CCS Hyderabad ,CCB, Bengaluru, EOW Maharashtra, EOW Kerala ,CID (AP) are investigating the case, but the arrests of most of the accused is yet to be made. Several bigwigs are involved in endorsing the brand, who remained untouched, so far, in the on-going investigation.

"Heera group CEO Nowhera Sheik was arrested on October 16, 2018. Till today, she remained under various police & judicial custody of four different states. In other states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir & Tamil Nadu, FIRs are yet to be registered. Several investors are approaching Hyderabad CCS, as these states are not following the Supreme Court guidelines of Lalita Kumari judgement 2015 to register FIR," he lamented.

Threats of losing investment

Ahmed Khan alleged that Heera group agents through social media and through phone calls are threatening the investors not to lodge complaint with police and to withdraw complaints to ensure their investment is not lost. "Heera scam is mother of all scams, and it has roots in Gulf region and also in Europe, as several promoters and clerics who endorsed have fled the country, while Bollywood actors who endorsed are not being questioned," he said.