Gourab Paul And ORS v. State Of West Bengal

20.12.2022 sdas rejected C.R.M. (DB) No. 4075 of 2022 In Re:- An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with Joypur Police Station Case No. 79 of 2022 dated 07.07.2022 under Section of the Indian Penal Code and adding Sections 406/413/419/120B of the Indian Penal Code.

And In Re : Gourab Paul & Ors. ..... petitioners Mr. Niladri Sekhar Ghosh Ms. Sompurna Chatterjee Mr. Sourav Mondal .... for the petitioners Mr. Rudradipta Nandy, learned APP Ms. Sonali Das ..... for the State Learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners submits they are in custody for 104 days. It is also submitted that they are the employees of a call centre which is owned by one Debasish Paul, a co-accused. They had no knowledge with regard to the alleged illegal activities.

Under such circumstances, they pray for bail.

Learned Counsel appearing for the State opposes the prayer for bail and submits the petitioners are members of an organized crime racket which induced a number of innocent persons to part with money on the false promise of setting up 5G towers. Money was transferred to various accounts in different States and siphoned off. Investigation has been transferred to a specialized agency viz. CID. Further investigation has revealed

a number of victims and FIRs have been registered. Hence, bail may not be granted.

We have considered the materials on record. Though FIR was registered by a singular victim alleging fraud, further investigation by a specialized agency viz. CID has revealed a deep rooted conspiracy by an organized crime racket. They defrauded a large number of persons on the false promise of setting up 5G towers. Petitioners are actively involved in the call centre wherefrom the fraudulent calls were made. Further investigation is in progress and a large number of victims have been traced out. A number of FIRs have been registered. At this delicate stage of investigation, it would not be prudent to release the petitioners on bail.

The application for bail is, thus, rejected. (Ajay Kumar Gupta, J.) (Joymalya Bagchi, J.)