In Photos: Late Sahara Chief Subrata Roy and the Ups & Downs of His Life

Subrata Roy, the founder of Sahara India Parivar, died at the age of 75 in Mumbai after a prolonged illness.

Subrata Roy, founder of Sahara India Parivar, died in Mumbai on 14 November, at the age of 75 after a prolonged illness. His group spans across various sectors including finance, media, entertainment and real estate.

(Photo: PTI)

Subrata Roy, the founder of Sahara India Parivar, died in Mumbai on 14 November, at the age of 75 after a prolonged illness.

Born to middle class parents in Bihar's Araria on 10 June 1948, Subrata Roy was the eldest son of the family. With a keen interest in technical studies, Roy went on to earn a diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Government Technical Institute in UP's Gorakhpur.

In order to support his family after his father passed away, Roy is said to have first set up a business called Jaya Products, where he supplied salted snacks in Gorakhpur on a scooter. Later, in 1976, he started Sahara Finance, a chit fund company. Taking inspiration from the old Peerless Group, he took charge of the company in 1978 and revamped its financial model.

His first clients were daily-wage workers who would invest 20 percent of their wages with Roy.

Under his leadership, Sahara India Parivar became one of India's largest conglomerates, employing approximately 1.2 million people. Some media reports claim that Sahara had more than 9 crore investors.

The group used to own the Indian Premier League's (IPL) Pune franchise and had a significant stake in India's first Formula One racing team called 'Force India'. Bollywood stars and famous sports personalities used to be regular visitors at most of Sahara’s functions.

But the business empire's first major regulatory woes emerged in 2008. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had directed Sahara Financial Corporation to stop raising fresh deposits in the same year.

Then came yet another blow. Two of Sahara’s companies that were engaged in the real estate sector were asked by markets regulator SEBI to stop issuing bonds to investors. In 2012, the matter reached the Supreme Court and the apex court directed the Sahara group to deposit Rs 24,000 crore with SEBI within 90 days, to be returned to bonafide Sahara investors.

After failing to comply with top court's order, Roy was eventually arrested in 2014, along with two of his company's executives. 

Two years later, Roy was out of jail on parole but his businesses continued to struggle.