Businessman With 3 Identities Fought 2019 Polls, Rakhi Sawant In Tow

Mukesh Kumar, the chairman and managing director of the listed firm Debock Industries Ltd, had three identities - real estate businessman, agriculture equipment dealer, and politician.

The owner of the Rajasthan-based firm which is under investigation for alleged stock manipulation worth over Rs 100 crore fought the Lok Sabha election in 2019 on a Shiv Sena ticket, with actor Rakhi Sawant in tow as he rolled out his campaign.

An old video has surfaced, showing him standing in an open vehicle with Ms Sawant while campaigning in Rajasthan's Tonk-Sawai Madhopur Lok Sabha constituency.

"Don't listen to speeches, vote for bow and arrow, Shiv Sena," Ms Sawant was heard in the video telling the crowd.

Also known by two other names - Mukesh Mahawar and Mukesh Manveer Singh - Mukesh Kumar is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). He allegedly raised the value of Debock Industries' shares artificially and cheated investors.

He used several names to dodge scrutiny, trick investors and hide his real identity, ED sources said.

The Rajasthan businessman had taken a fancy to luxury cars, and owned models from Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Mercedes-Benz. The ED conducted searches in many locations, including Jaipur, Tonk and Deoli last week over allegations that he was involved in stock manipulation, and use of fake companies and dummy directors.

A resident of the small town, Deoli, in Tonk district, Mukesh Kumar dabbled in agricultural equipment and real estate before he tried his luck in politics.

The SEBI found that his company fraudulently raised its share value from Rs 8 to Rs 153 in just six months. The company got listed in the exchanges in 2018. However, the SEBI in 2024 found Debock Industries had submitted fake bank statements and manipulated financial statements to inflate shares by misleading investors.

In 2019, Mukesh Kumar contested the Lok Sabha election on a Shiv Sena ticket and lost. Sources said he likely tried to join politics knowing he would need a fresh start. He won only 4,600 votes.

He had mentioned real estate and "marriage gardens" in his list of assets. On the ground, however, NDTV found that Mukesh Kumar's real estate holdings existed only on paper, and were not functional as hotels or wedding gardens.

NDTV went to his 'hotel' on National Highway 52, but found it closed. The "marriage garden" in Deoli was also shut, with a dhaba running in front of the commercial establishment.

The same was the story with his company, in which junior employees were shown as directors to mislead the stock exchange, ED sources said. The money it got from rights issue was siphoned off abroad and invested into real estate.

The ED suspects the investigation will lead to a money trail of benami properties with overseas links.

In another twist, a police station in Rajasthan's capital Jaipur told NDTV that 'Mukesh Mahawar' has a criminal history, with over 20 cases of forgery. He managed to close the rap sheet through a court order in 2015, the police said.

It was these dubious links and a report by the SEBI that led the ED to his doorstep.