Delhi court denies bail to Amit Kumar Bansal in BharatPe fraud case

Delhi's Saket District Court has denied bail to Amit Kumar Bansal, who was accused in the Rs 81 crore BharatPe fraud case involving non-existent firms and fake transactions.

Bansal’s defense argued he was falsely implicated, stating that his deceased brother managed the business dealings and that Bansal received no funds or benefits, according to a copy of the order accessed by YourStory.

However, the court highlighted the gravity of the charges, including forgery, criminal breach of trust, and conspiracy, and pointed to evidence linking Bansal directly to the fraud, the order showed.

The court noted that Bansal was associated with several non-existent firms that raised fake invoices amounting to Rs 72 crore. A common email ID was used to conduct these transactions, and Bansal's involvement was deemed significant. "The email ID…was found to be operated by the applicant,” the court stated, rejecting the claim that it was solely used by his brother.

The court also emphasised that the ongoing investigation required further custodial interrogation of the accused. “Further analysis which requires custodial interrogation is warranted in this case as the entire data of these firms needs to be analyzed,” it noted, adding that Bansal’s actions, such as deleting the email account used in the alleged fraudulent activities, raised concerns about potential evidence tampering.

Bansal was arrested on August 6 by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police, following an FIR against BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover and others for causing financial losses through fraudulent activities.

The accused is under police remand at the EOW office in Mandir Marg, New Delhi, and will be produced to the court on Monday. The EOW had filed an FIR against BharatPe Co-founder Ashneer Grover, his wife Madhuri Jain, and their family members Deepak Gupta, Suresh Jain, and Shwetank Jain in May 2023 in the Rs 81 crore fraud case.