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Shine City fraud: Now, core marketing team member in EOW net
The agency makes its second arrest in the case in two days. On Monday, another former employee was apprehended.
Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Tuesday arrested another accused in connection with the alleged multi-crore Shine City Infra Project Pvt. Ltd. investment fraud, as per an official note.
This was the second arrest the UP Police wing has made in the case in two days.
The accused, Atul Singh, was apprehended from the Gudamba area of the city. He allegedly played a key role in marketing the company’s real estate schemes that were used to dupe investors of large sums of money, the note issued by EOW headquarters here stated.
According to the EOW, Singh worked at Shine City’s Lucknow office that was located at R Square, Vipul Khand, where he handled property sales. “He was associated with the company’s core marketing operations and involved in persuading investors to put money into various schemes by offering inducements and assurances,” an EOW official said, citing details from the press note. Investigators described him as part of what was internally referred to as the company’s “bahubali team” or the core marketing team.
Police said a court had issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Singh. “He changed his location frequently to evade arrest,” the EOW stated, adding that he was allegedly still trying to lure people into similar investment schemes even while absconding.
Atul Singh’s arrest came a day after the EOW detained Preeti Singh, a former human resources officer (HRO) with Shine City, from Lucknow. As per investigators, both worked at the same Lucknow office and she acted as an authorised signatory in buyers’ registry agreements on behalf of the company.
“Her role is being examined in connection with the execution of investor agreements and documentation during the period when the alleged fraud took place,” an official said.
EOW officials said Shine City floated attractive real estate schemes in multiple districts of Uttar Pradesh, promising affordable residential plots and lucrative returns. “Investors were persuaded to deposit crores of rupees, but neither did they get the plots nor their refunds,” the note added.
The company’s directors and other key functionaries allegedly shut down their offices and went absconding after collecting funds from investors.
Several criminal cases linked to the alleged fraud were initially registered at Gomti Nagar police station in Lucknow. Due to the scale and complexity of the case, the state government later transferred the investigation to the EOW.
According to the agency, the role of 11 individuals in the alleged fraud has been found, and charge sheets were filed against nine of them. After the arrest of Preeti Singh and Atul Singh, the focus has now shifted to tracing the remaining absconding accused.
“The investigation to establish the complete money trail, identify additional victims, and locate assets of the accused persons is going on,” an EOW official said.
The agency has also appealed to investors to come forward with relevant documents and lodge formal complaints. The officials indicated that more arrests were likely in the case.
