Professor among two held in 2024 ₹94-lakh cheating case from Raipur hideout

MUMBAI: A professor who was allegedly part of a ₹94-lakh cheating racket and a transporter who had been on the run for nearly two years were finally tracked down to Raipur in Chhattisgarh, after Vanrai police in Goregaon East followed an informant trail to their hideouts

MUMBAI: A professor who was allegedly part of a ₹94-lakh cheating racket and a transporter who had been on the run for nearly two years were finally tracked down to Raipur in Chhattisgarh, after Vanrai police in Goregaon East followed an informant trail to their hideouts.

The two wanted accused- Kamlesh Sahu, 39, a professor at an engineering college who is also involved in the transport business, and transporter Virendra Tanwar- were arrested from Sector 27 in Raipur during a search operation on Friday, police said.

What made the chase more difficult was that the accused had stopped using their mobile phones to avoid detection. However, police officials said their efforts to remain off the grid eventually failed after informants tipped off investigators that the two had relocated to Raipur.

The case dates back to between January and March 2024, when Dev Sharma, the zonal head of Box N Freight Logistics Solution Private Limited, allegedly colluded with Sahu and Tanwar to create fake e-way bills, false receipts and use fake stamps of the recipient company to show paper transactions worth ₹94 lakh. According to the police, no actual services were provided to the client against these transactions.

The alleged fraud came to light after discrepancies were detected in the company’s accounts. Company director Prashant Shettikar subsequently learnt about Sharma’s alleged involvement, following which a case was registered in 2024. “Sharma was arrested a month and a half ago and is in jail. He has received ₹4 lakh commission from Sahu and Tanwar for approving the fake bills, of which ₹2 lakh was credited to his wife’s account. Sharma was arrested from Bengaluru,” a police officer from Vanrai police station said.

With Sharma behind bars, investigators turned their attention to Sahu and Tanwar, who allegedly went into hiding after learning that Mumbai police were looking for them in connection with the cheating case involving the Goregaon-based company.

The company obtains contracts from third parties and arranges orders for clients seeking courier and cargo logistics services, including domestic and international transportation through air, road, sea and multi-modal modes, police said. “However, Sahu and Tanwar went into hiding after learning that the Mumbai police are looking for them for cheating the Goregaon-based company,” the officer said.

The arrests were also part of a wider drive against absconders. Police officials said Mumbai police commissioner Deven Bharti had directed police stations across the city to crack down on accused wanted in old cases.

Following the directive, Vanrai police intensified their efforts to trace the two men. Their investigation eventually led them to Naya Raipur. Sahu, who was allegedly hiding there with his wife, was traced to the area and arrested. The following day, police tracked Tanwar to the premises of Aranya Bhavan, the Forest Department Main Office in Naya Raipur. He was nabbed at around 3 pm, officials said.

According to the FIR filed on Shettikar’s complaint, the alleged fraud involved more than just the two recently arrested accused. Shettikar said the discrepancies in the company’s accounts led to the discovery of Sharma’s role, after which he was arrested and is currently in jail.

The FIR states that Sharma allegedly colluded with Ravi Gupta, owner of M Trucky Online Transport, as well as the owners of Fraka Shipping- Ankita Rai, Pragati Singh and Virendra Tanwar.

The accused allegedly defrauded the company of ₹94 lakh without actually transporting any goods. Instead, they allegedly created fake e-way bills and false receipts and used fake company stamps to make it appear that the transactions had taken place.