Panaji, Feb 18 (TIO): Victims of a conman who, collectively cheated them out of over a crore rupees in 2015, on Saturday expressed their displeasure over the slow pace at which police were investigating the case. They said the alleged conman continued to remain free to prey on other unsuspecting persons.

In December 2015, the Economic Offences Cell (EOC) of Goa police had booked Ajju Sindolli on charges of cheating. Sindolli, doesn’t have a permanent address in Goa, police said.

The victims, Paul Saldanha, an NRI, Maria Mascarenhas, a senior citizen, Alen Vaz, a banker, and Peter Pinto, a businessman, held a joint conference in the city. Saldanha, alleged that police had failed to investigate the cases against Sindolli properly and had even closed some due to lack of evidence. 

Sindolli had cheated several people of over a crore rupees by promising them attractive returns on gold deposits and investments in mining and property.

Saldanha, who lost Rs 47 lakh after Sindolli convinced him to invest in mining, said police had been instructed to conduct the probe at a slow pace after he met a certain influential politician. “We want the investigating agency to expedite the probe,” Saldanha said, adding that the conman has been cheating Goans for the last 15 years and that despite several complaints to the highest authorities in Goa, matters have been dragging. “Because of instructions from above, the EOC is dragging its feet,” he said. There are 38 cases against Sindolli, under Section 138 IPC, in local courts, Saldanha said.

The Mascarenhas family from Tivim lost over Rs 15 lakh to Sindholli’s scheme. He approached the family and told them that if they deposited their gold in a bank, they would earn a monthly interest of Rs 9,000. When in reality what Sindolli did was mortgage their gold without their knowledge.

Alan Vaz, who was cheated out of Rs 13 lakh, was promised plots in Socorro, while Pinto invested Rs 40 lakh in iron ore trading on the lucrative promise of Rs 15 lakh returns within a week.