The Criminal Investigation Department of Madhya Pradesh has launched a formal investigation into 75 complaints against the Sahara Group, complaints that had gone unexamined for four years. The CID has deployed 12 teams across the state to reach investors who are still waiting to recover their money.
The scale of the fraud is significant. Some 9.66 lakh investors in Madhya Pradesh, most of them from small towns and villages, had put money into Sahara schemes. A combined ₹6,689 crore remains stuck. So far, only ₹355 crore has been returned.
Most Victims Have Not Even Applied
Of the 9.66 lakh investors affected, only 1.55 lakh have filed refund applications. The rest have either not heard about the process or find it too complicated to navigate. More than 90 percent of investors have received nothing.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court ordered ₹5,000 crore to be returned to investors from the Sahara-SEBI account. The Central Government subsequently launched the CRCS portal to handle refund applications. Under the current system, cases up to ₹10 lakh require an online application, a 30-day inquiry, and a 45-day payment window. Payments up to ₹50 lakh are planned for the first phase in 2025–26.
Districts Hit Hardest
CID data shows fraud exceeding ₹100 crore each in six districts: Tikamgarh, Vidisha, Guna, Ashoknagar, Sagar, and Maihar. A separate set of 11 cases involving ₹42 crore across Tikamgarh, Vidisha, Ashoknagar, and Damoh is also under investigation. In total, 123 FIRs have been filed against Sahara entities in the last six months.
The Enforcement Directorate is running a parallel investigation into land transactions spanning 312 acres. Investigators suspect that investor funds were used to purchase these properties at below-market rates.
The CID is not limiting its investigation to Sahara’s main entity. Three other firms, Capsej Chitfund, Parivar Dairy Chitfund, and Saksham Chitfund, are also under scrutiny. Each reportedly collected funds from investors using false promises of high returns, then failed to deliver.
The CID has said it will prepare district-wise reports and expand the investigation to four additional districts in the coming weeks.
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