Subrata Roy Death: From selling biscuits to building multi-crore firm know inspiring story of Saharasri

Subrata Roy, the founder of Sahara India Pariwar, died at age of 75. He spent a considerable amount of time receiving care at a private hospital in Mumbai. Numerous companies, including Aamby Valley City, Sahara Movie Studios, Air Sahara, Uttar Pradesh Wizards, and Filmy, were run by Sahara India Pariwar.

Born on June 10, 1948, Subrata Roy was a prominent figure in the Indian business landscape. He founded the Sahara India Pariwar, and the group's employees used to address him as Sahara Shri.

Following the death of his father, Roy had to give up his initial desire to work to support his family. During his early youth, Roy was forced by harsh circumstances to sell salted snacks, or "namkeen," in Gorakhpur on his scooter. He gave his business the name Jaya Products.

When Subrata Roy launched Sahara in 1978, he had just Rs 2000 in his pocket. According to those who have known Subrata since the 1970s, he used to ride a scooter around Gorakhpur at that time. In 1976, Roy took over the chit fund operated by Sahara Finance, a faltering business.

In 1978, he modified its financial framework. It is said that Sahara employed the much older Peerless Group's financial system. These entities, known as residuary non-banking companies (RNBCs), take very small deposits.

Roy relocated to Lucknow in the 1990s, where his group's headquarters were located. From then on, it developed into India's biggest conglomerate, encompassing a wide variety of business ventures. Currently, the company's holdings include financial services, real estate, education, media, healthcare, and more .

His enterprise went on to own landmark global properties, including New York's Plaza Hotel and London's iconic Grosvenor House.

In 2004, Time magazine named the Sahara Group as “the second-largest employer in India" for its 1.2 million workforce. The top position in India was held by the Indian Railways.

Mr Roy was arrested in 2014 on the orders of the Supreme Court after he failed to appear before it in a contempt case arising out of the non-refund of more than ₹ 20,000 crore to investors by two of his companies. He was later granted bail, but troubles continued for his various businesses.

Subrata Roy had created a huge business empire across retail, real estate and financial services sectors but the tragedy struck when his companies were embroiled in a legal tussle with SEBI after the market regulator in 2011 ordered Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) to refund the money raised from investors through certain bonds known as Optionally Fully Convertible Bonds (OFCDs) that was later ruled to be illegal.

After months of legal battles, in 2012, the Supreme Court upheld Sebi's ruling asking Subrata Roy's two firms to refund the money collected from investors with 15 per cent interest i.e., ₹24,000 crore. According to Reuters, Sahara's assets at one point in time included New York's Plaza Hotel and the Grosvenor House in London. Subrata Roy was also co-owner of the former Force India Formula One team.