A major financial fraud targeting rural women has surfaced in the Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, where victims were duped of more than Rs 70 lakh under the lure of doubling their savings through stock market investments. The fraudulent scheme was operated as a family enterprise, with the suspects systematically cultivating trust among local residents before absconding with their hard-earned money. Law enforcement authorities have registered a criminal case and arrested the primary female suspect, while teams pursue her husband and mother who are also implicated in the operation.
The Promise of Guaranteed Stock Market Doubling
The fraudulent scheme preyed upon the trust and limited financial awareness of village residents. The primary suspect, Menka Sarathi, alongside her husband Akshay Sarathi and her mother Meera Sonwani, approached local women claiming that they traded actively in equities and the stock market. They convinced the victims that handing over their capital would yield rapid returns, assuring them that their investments would be doubled within a short duration. Enticed by the guarantee of outsized returns, numerous women agreed to hand over their household savings.
Building Credibility Through Initial Payouts
To establish credibility and quell initial scepticism, the suspects employed a classic Ponzi-style tactic. In the opening phase, Menka Sarathi returned supposed profits to a small initial group of participants. Witnessing these early returns, other villagers became convinced that the scheme was legitimate and safe. Consequently, more than 11 women along with other local residents handed over substantial amounts of money to the trio. In total, the funds collected reached 70,77,901 rupees. Once the inflows peaked, however, the returns dried up entirely, and requests by investors to recover their principal amounts were flatly denied.
Complaint Lodged and Police Action in Sakti
The fraudulent operation finally unraveled when a victim named Harabai Nishad approached the authorities to report that she and multiple other women from her village had been swindled out of their savings. Acting on her official complaint, police initiated an investigation that substantiated the allegations made by the aggrieved villagers. According to DSP Pushpendra Baghel, formal charges were registered promptly following the verification of the victims' statements. A police team tracked down and arrested Menka Sarathi from Sakti. Investigators confirmed that 70 lakh 77 thousand rupees had been siphoned off through the operation, and search efforts remain actively underway to apprehend her absconding husband Akshay Sarathi and mother Meera Sonwani.
