3,200 police complaints and counting

At least 3,210 investors filed complaints at the Commercial Street police station after an audio clip purportedly recorded by the IMA founder, Mohammed Mansoor Khan, surfaced on Monday.

Thousands of investors gathered outside the IMA Jewels store on Lady Curzon Road. They wanted to enter the building but it was locked. Police rushed to the spot and tried to control the crowd. They later told the investors to file complaints instead of protesting.

Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad, DCP (East), camped at the spot as soon as the protest began in the morning. He urged the people to file complaints instead of raising slogans.

When a man in the crowd wondered aloud whether filing complaints would serve any purpose, Shahapurwad replied in the affirmative, saying that would be recorded and help them get back their investment.

Police later set up counters near the Bowring Hospital and the Commercial Street police station to receive the complaints.

According to the police, most of the investors belong to the middle class or are small-time businessmen. "We have deployed extra staff to receive the complaints. The fraud is estimated at Rs 500 crore. People have submitted documents of their investment along with the complaints. Most of the people lost between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. We received 3,210 complaints until 9 pm on Monday and more people have queued up," a police officer said.

Speaking to DH, Shahapurwad said five teams had been formed to track down Khan and that they were also examining the authenticity of the audio clip.