Telangana police detained Raj Kumar Roy, 69, in Adilabad district on allegations of orchestrating a massive investment fraud through Unique Mercantile India Limited and its affiliate, Unique SMCS. Roy, an Ahmedabad resident serving as the company's managing director, is the prime accused in a scheme that investigators believe defrauded approximately 10,000 investors across India. The arrest follows a complex web of complaints filed in multiple districts, marking the first major breakthrough in a case that has left victims across the country without their principal or promised returns.
The modus operandi was deceptively simple. Agents approached investors with chit funds, fixed deposits, and monthly payment plans, promising high returns and even plots in developing areas. Superintendent of Police Akhil Mahajan explained that the scheme relied on collecting regular instalments, only for payments to stop when the schemes matured. "Investors did not receive their principal, promised returns, or plots," Mahajan said. Preliminary questioning in Adilabad revealed transactions worth between ₹7 crore and ₹8 crore involving nearly 2,000 members in that locale alone.
The scale of the fraud extends far beyond Adilabad. Police have registered 14 cases in Telangana across Adilabad One Town, Two Town, Mavala, Adilabad Rural, and Talamadugu, while verifying complaints from Medak, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Rajanna Sircilla. Investigators suspect the total losses could run into hundreds of crores. They are now tracing money flows to properties in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, West Bengal, Jaipur, and Maharashtra, including claims of 400 plots in Miyapur and 200 acres near AIIMS Bibinagar. The suspicion is that funds collected in one region were used to meet obligations elsewhere or diverted into personal real estate ventures.
The net is tightening. Chandrasekhar, the alleged zonal manager of Unique SMCS in Hyderabad, remains at large. Police are also examining the roles of various agents and company officials, including allegations of funds collected for proposed medical ventures and overseas employment schemes that never materialized. For victims like those in Adilabad, the arrest offers a glimmer of hope, but the road to recovery is long. Mahajan urged all affected individuals to come forward with receipts, bank statements, and agent details to help authorities quantify the full extent of the loss and trace the diverted funds.
The investigation is in its critical phase. Police are verifying title documents and ownership patterns for the accused properties. Meanwhile, the public is being cautioned to rigorously verify the regulatory status of any company promising unusually high returns. The next step involves a detailed audit of the company's financial records and continued efforts to locate Chandrasekhar and other key associates to unravel the full scope of this multistate financial crime.