Special Task Force (STF), Uttarakhand has arrested three persons allegedly involved in duping people on the pretext of giving them benefit on their fixed deposits on Wednesday.
The accused has been identified as Pradeep Gupta, native of Madhya Pradesh; Mohammad Ahsan Haidar and Shahanwaz, native of Bijnor and they were currently living in Patelnagar of Dehradun. The police team members have also recovered six mobile phones, three computers and its equipments, two laptops, company related documents from their possession.
STF received a tip off that some persons are opening fake companies in various states including Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and duping people by promising them to double their money by investing in lands. They had made a website and advertised widely about the same. On website, they had shown their company’s growth with multiple times. They had allegedly misled the people on their scheme. They had motivated the people to invest money in their companies. Regarding the same, a complainant from Dehradun has registered a complaint and a case under sections 420/120b of IPC and section 66 of IT Act was registered against unidentified persons in cyber police station. Acting on the complaint, STF Uttarakhand SSP Riddhim Aggarwal has formed a joint team from STF, Cyber police station comprised of additional SP Ajay Singh, Deputy SP Kailash Panwar, inspectors Sandeep Negi and Pankaj Pokhriyal to crack the case. Team members conducted thorough investigation and acting on tip off, they raided the office of company named United Agro Life India limited. At the office, nine employees, all of them are locals and three directors are working. Team members examined available documents in the office and computers.
Employees were also questioned about the same. It was revealed in course of investigation that this company is allegedly involved in duping people by promising them to double their money by investing in lands. Five such companies in different names were opened. In preliminary inquiry, several irregularities were found.
Team members arrested three directors and office was sealed. In course of interrogation, the accused are learnt to have admitted their crime and said that they had opened 31 branches of the company in Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Eight branches were shut down in the past.
The head office of company is located at Patelnagar. According to bank official, the company had violated Uttaranchal Protection of Interests of Depositors in Financial Establishment Act, 2005. The company was opened in 2010 and its turnover in 2017 was around Rs 25 crore, said police sources.