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₹400 crore fraud: Police arrest one of four suspects
Investigators said Nirupama was once a member of a district Child Welfare Committee and was connected to a political party in Faizabad.
Even as the prime accused in a fraud worth ₹400 crore committed by a Prayagraj-based real estate firm were on the run, police have made their first arrest as part of their ongoing investigation.
On Sunday night, Shivkuti police arrested Nirupama Mishra, the mother-in-law of the managing director (MD) Niharika Ventures’, Abhishek Dwivedi, from Prayag Railway Station. Dwivedi and his wife Niharika duped hundreds, and their victims include students, traders, lawyers and housewives.
Investigators said Nirupama was once a member of the district Child Welfare Committee and was connected to a political party in Faizabad.
Shivkuti station house officer Sanjay Gupta said a case was filed against the couple, Abhishek’s father OP Dwivedi and his mother-in-law Nirupama for fraud, embezzlement, issuing threats and demanding extortion on the complaints of one Kusum Pandey and Kamal Dev.
On Abhishek’s assurance, people invested amounts from ₹20 lakh to 50 lakh into his company. He, however, was delaying payments for the past six years. Moreover, he was also reluctant to hand over plots to those who invested in his real estate business.
The couple fled when investors mounted pressure on them to return their money.
