Takes Action Against 194 Cos, Of Which 104 Are In Bengal West Bengal has more number of companies raising money illegally from gullible investors by offering shares and debentures than all the other states combined in India. Of the 194 companies against whom Sebi has taken action for raising money by issuing non-convertible and convertible preference shares, non-convertible and convertible debentures, and also equity shares, 104 are from the eastern Indian state, data analyzed from a Sebi release showed. The state with the second biggest lot in the Sebi list is Madhya Pradesh with 27 companies, while the third highest lot is from Odisha with 14 companies. On Friday , the market regulator warned people not to invest in companies which raise money illegally by issuing these instruments through the private placement route. Termed as `Deemed Public Issues (DPIs)', these companies usually collect money by selling illegally shares and debentures to a large number of gullible investors.