It wasn’t a very happy new year for Delhi-based industrialist Samir Thapar who was arrested by Uttarakhand Police in the Kolhu Chaur area of Lansdowne in Pauri Garhwal on charges of trespassing on forest land. Now, his bail has been rejected.
The Chairman and Managing Director of JCT Ltd was among 16 people who were booked under Section 26 of the Indian Forest Act – and have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
On checking one of the rooms, we found 171 bottles of liquor of different brands. A box was recovered from another room which contained a .300 bore rifle along with 23 live cartridges and a telescope. One of the men, Arif Hussain, was also found to be in possession of a .375 bore rifle along with 15 live cartridges. A case was booked against Mohinder Singh under Section 60 of the Excise Act for being in possession of illicit liquor and against Hussain under Section 25/30 of the Arms Act for flouting licence regulations.Mukhtar Mohsin, senior SSP, Pauri Garhwal
Business Bloodline
The son of MM Thapar, Samir graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in Business Administration. He became part of JCT, one of the leading manufacturers of textiles and filament yarn, in 1993. JCT is the flagship company of the Thapar Group.
Race Car Driver
A keen sportsman, Samir was a shooter during his school days and serves as the President of the Indian Body Building Federation. The industrialist is also a rally car driver of some repute. He crashed in the Rally of Maharashtra this year, but that hasn’t stopped his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X from making news in the rally car driving circuit.
Social Media Profile
The 50-year-old’s social media profile listed public on Facebook suggests he’s a doting father of two and an animal lover who revels in the outdoors. He also seems to have a special interest in fast cars, weapons and army fatigues.
A photograph posted by him on 16 April 2015 shows Samir teaching his son how to hold a revolver.
In response to a comment criticising the photo, Samir Thapar wrote:
What’s wrong with learning how to handle firearms? I grew up learning how to do so and I’m glad I did. Firearms are dangerous if you’re not taught how to handle them safely. Firearms should always be kept out of reach of children if one happens to own them. It’s far safer being a kid once he’s 18 who’s been taught the right safety handling habits of a firearm than someone who’s old enough to own one but hasn’t been taught how to do so. Secondly, it’s not like I was making him fire a loaded revolver, so just chill…
Not His First Arrest
In November 2009, Samir was held by cops by mistake when he was at LAP, a lounge bar co-owned by actor Arjun Rampal. The Delhi Police team was looking for Sahil Dhingra, owner of leading apparel exporter Orient Craft, who was accompanied by Jessica Lal’s killer Manu Sharma, then out on bail. Manu Sharma slipped out of the back door, but Samir was held as he was walking out of LAP around 3 am. He was allowed to leave at 1 pm the next day.
Business Troubles
JCT was caught in the global financial meltdown of 2008 and missed paying bondholders in 2011. In 2015, the hedge fund QET, which holds a majority of the Rs 115 crore of bonds, filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to wind up the company. The petition was dismissed. However, the company reported a turnaround and decided to pay shareholders with internal cash flow and with sale of non-core assets.
Patron of the Arts?
Samir is said to be the brain behind a mural titled ‘Mission Leopard’ on a 115-feet high water tanker on the outskirts of Gurgaon.
The mural was created by a team of artists led by Yantr and project curator Abhishek Kumar Singh. The duo is also associated with the Dadasaheb Phalke mural in Bandra.
(Source: JCT Limited, Bloomberg, Mission Leopard)
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