Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy died of a heart attack on Tuesday. He was 75 years old. The company said that he was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai on Sunday after his health deteriorated. According to the statement, Roy, who was suffering from various diseases including high blood pressure and diabetes for a long time, died at 10.30 pm due to a heart attack.
Subrata Roy’s story seems like a fairy tale. Coming from a middle-class family, Roy traveled from zero to the top, although it did not take long for him to reach the ground.
Journey from 2000 to Rs 2,59,900 crore :
It is said that Roy started his career with just Rs 2,000 and later his total net worth reached Rs 2,59,900 crore.
Subrata Roy started Sahara India Pariwar in 1978 as a small company dealing in finance. Over the next few years the group expanded its operations into various sectors including real estate, media and entertainment, hospitality, aviation and many more.
With a vast network of investors and customers, Sahara became one of the largest employers in India. At one time it was believed that Sahara Group was the largest employer after Indian Railways. It was claimed that about 12 lakh people are getting employment in Sahara.
Sahara Group was the sponsor of Team India from 2001 to 2013. One of his real estate projects, Aamby Valley, which is near Lonavala in Maharashtra, was also very popular.
Friendship with stalwarts, life full of grandeur,
Subrata Roy was counted among the celebrities of the country. His special friends included prominent personalities of politics and Bollywood. Subrata Roy’s life was full of luxuries. The marriage of his two sons was very much discussed in 2004. The marriage celebrations of both the sons were celebrated for about a fortnight. Big names from politics, Bollywood and sports world participated in it.
Controversy
Subrata Roy and the Sahara Group faced legal troubles and controversies related to financial irregularities. He was accused of getting people to invest crores of rupees in two companies against the rules. In this case he had to stay in jail for two years.
According to PTI, in 2011, SEBI had ordered Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL) to return the money raised from investors. The regulator had ruled that both the companies had raised funds in violation of its rules and regulations.
The Supreme Court had on August 31, 2012 upheld SEBI’s directions, asking both the companies to return the money taken from investors with 15 percent interest.
Ultimately Sahara was asked to deposit an estimated Rs 24,000 crore with SEBI for refund to investors. However, the group always maintained that this was ‘double payment’ as it had already returned more than 95 per cent of the money directly to investors.
