A school dropout, who had allegedly duped hundreds of gullible investors of over Rs 1.5 crore on the pretext of handsome returns in a short span of time, has been arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police.
The accused, identified as Satnam Singh, was arrested a couple of days ago from Mohali in Punjab, where he had been hiding from complainants seeking return of their money.
According to police, Singh had launched a company, NGP Private Limited, in Delhi to lure people promising quick returns on their investments. To ensnare more people, he would offer gifts to depositors and incentives to agents entrusted with job of tapping investors.
"He used every trick of the trade by organising domestic and foreign tours for agents to induce them to rope in more depositors and expanded the company on the line of multi-level marketing scheme," said DCP (EOW) Rajnish Garg.
Singh would target small investors by offering schemes requiring as small initial deposit as Rs 300 and managed to garner Rs 1.5 crore within a brief span between February and August in 2008, he added.
When the depositors started seeking returns on their money following expiry of maturity period, the accused shut business and went into hiding.
Since he was hiding for several years, a manhunt was launched to trace him. "Following technical surveillance and ground intelligence, we learnt that he had been residing somewhere around Chandigarh. Further probe revealed he has been operating an account in Chandigarh branch of Axis bank. This led to his hideout and subsequent arrest," police said.
During his interrogation, Singh revealed that he had taken refuge in Mohali after leaving the national capital. He had also purchased a flat from the investors' money, but sold it later, police added.
"After he left for Punjab, his brother-in-law Jasbir Singh (another director of the company) managed the company affairs. Jasbir Singh has been absconding...," he said.
The accused is in police remand for two days and further investigation into the matter is on, police said.
