NEMSICS muddle refuses to clear up

NO OFFICIAL COMPLAINT, HENCE NO FORMAL ENQUIRY EITHER; MEANWHILE THERE IS NO NEMSICS OFFICE IN SIKKIM ANY MORE EITHER
GANGTOK, 06 Dec: When NOW! first raised concerns over the operations of NEMSICS there was not much reaction either from the public or the authorities, namely the police. At that time, back in 2006-07, about 30 youth from all over the State had deposited between Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000 each with the company in return for jobs, which they had been promised. They never got the jobs and most never got their money back either.
Today, while the primary function of NEMSICS is still vague, and when many people have not received their due returns on investments, the authorities are still unable to do anything about it. The reason is that no formal police complaint has been lodged against the company yet! That too, when there seems to be no definite whereabouts of the company or its officials in the state and particularly when it has money to pay back its ‘investors’. In short, the company, as sources claim, is no longer ‘operating’ in the State. Its erstwhile office in Deorali has been shut for some time now.
However, and most interestingly, it is possible that the company is operating through other fronts. One such ‘front’ or associate firm was Lydia Consultancy, also located at Deorali, and against which a case has recently been registered by the Crime Branch, Sikkim Police.
This case was registered by an employee of the HRD Department working in Soreong, Mr. Padam, after being led up the garden path for 9 months by Bhupal Subba of Lydia Consultancy. The connection with NEMSICS is that Mr. Padam needed a loan from NEMSICS and Bhupal Subba assured of getting him that loan upon payment of a certain fees.
Mr. Padam needed Rs. 50 lakh to start a small enterprise for which he was asked to pay a fee of Rs. 1 lakh by Lydia Consultancy. This payment he made in December, 2010 and the 2 receipts he received reflected that Rs. 40,000 was Lydia Consultancy’s consultancy fees for preparing the project proposals and reports and that the remainder, Rs. 60,000, was taken by NEMSICS. This itself is enough to raise eyebrows.
Why would a company take such “commission” for giving out a loan? Of course, it never did grant a loan and Mr. Padam received nothing. Around August this year, NEMSICS closed its office after some controversy.
The connection between Lydia Consultancy and NEMSICS was established when a Crime Branch team raided the house of Bhupal Subba a few weeks ago and found documents related to NEMSICS. When asked to explain these documents in his possession, Bhupal Subba is reported to have claimed that he had found the documents lying on the road.
Of course, the police is not convinced but finds itself handicapped to investigate further as nobody has come forward to lodge a complaint against NEMSICS.
The number of people who had invested in the company and the total amount of money that the company received in deposits can only be guessed. It has also been ascertained that the company has no bank account in Sikkim.
Bhupal Subba is yet to be arrested as he is reported to be keeping unwell. There is a case of cheating and criminal conspiracy registered against him. What is ironic is that even after the State government passed the Sikkim Protection of Interests of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, such operations are still coming to light.
It needs to be clarified here that contrary to media reports, there is still no case registered against NEMSICS thus far nor was there any raid in its offices as there is no complaint against the company nor does it even have any office here anymore.