Nitin Desais: 5 staffers of creditor group booked for abetting Nitin Desai’s suicide | India News – Times of India
His widow Neha Desai has submitted a written complaint to police alleging that employees of ECL Finance and the Edelweiss Group were pressuring her husband to recover an outstanding loan. Her complaint says Desai was fed up with the harassment and hence took the drastic step of ending his life.
Initially, the case filed by Khalapur police had been recorded as an accidental death. In the wake of Neha Desai’s complaint, police have registered a First Information Report under Indian Penal Code section 306 (abetment of suicide) and section 34 (acts by several persons in furtherance of common intention) against the five accused staff of ECL Finance and Edelweiss Group and others, said Raigad police.
The suicide abetment case is now being investigated by Vikram Kadam, Sub-divisional Police Officer, Khalapur.
Nitin Desai’s firm ND’s Art World, which managed his studio, took a loan in two instalments, a Rs 150 crore loan in 2016 and Rs 31 crore in 2018. Repayment had stalled since January 2020 and the pandemic had worsened the firm’s financial situation. The amount due included unpaid interest. In all, recovery due was Rs 252 crore. The National Company Law Tribunal in Mumbai had recently allowed a petition by the Edelweiss group to initiate corporate insolvency proceedings against ND Art World.
Raigad additional superintendent of police Atul Zende said, “As part of the probe into the abetment of suicide case, the accused will be summoned to Khalapur police station by the investigating officer for recording their statements.”
“Before committing suicide, Nitin Desai sent 11 audio clips to his advocate Vrunda Kumbhar. We are awaiting the forensic lab report of these audio clips to verify his voice, which will provide vital evidence in the abetment of suicide case,” Zende added.
