Man wanted in Delhi, Mumbai bank fraud cases held after 18 years

DCP (Crime) Harsh Indora said that Nischal shifted to Himachal Pradesh soon after first fleeing to Delhi and changed his name to Sonu Chauhan.

Published on: Jan 15, 2026, 09:18:18 IST

By Jignasa Sinha, New Delhi

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Nearly 18 years after a man committed multiple bank frauds in Delhi and Mumbai, nearly 18 years after he cheated them of lakhs of rupees, police said they arrested him from Manali, where he was working as a hotel manager, evading arrest.

Investigators said Nishchal was a member of an organised gang who committed large scale bank fraud.

The accused, Amit Nishchal, now 48, has been named as accused in cases lodged in 2001-02 in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, as well as in Delhi. Investigators said Nishchal, who was in his 20s at that time, was a member of an organised gang who committed large scale bank fraud.

“They would target courier companies who dealt with delivery/transit of demand drafts in major city bank branches. They stole demand drafts from vans. The drafts were then forged. The addresses were changed and the amount would also be changed…This way, they cheated multiple banks,” said an officer.

Police said the CID in Mumbai was investigating him in a similar cheating case in 2001. He was arrested at the time met notorious gangster Om Prakash Singh and began committing fraud after he got bail.

In 2002, he was arrested in Santa Cruz again. However, this time, when he got bail, he fled and police failed to trace him.

DCP (Crime) Harsh Indora said that Nischal shifted to Himachal Pradesh soon after first fleeing to Delhi. “He changed his name to Sonu Chauhan and even made ration card and other IDs. He had enough savings and started working at hotels. He was then made the manager of a hotel.”

Police said that, in December 2025, they received an input that one of the proclaimed offenders, who has been on the run for nearly two decades, was hiding in Manali.

“We found that he had changed his name and identity but his photos matched the description. A team was sent to Kullu-Manali to look for him. He was also trying to contact his family which further raised suspicions. He was traced and arrested from Manali last week,” said another officer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jignasa Sinha
Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More

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