Ponzi thug, who cheated lakhs of Rs 1,000 cr, held

Vijay Kumar Sharma, the 51-year-old chairman of JVG group of companies and a proclaimed cheat on the run for three years, was arrested from near Pragati Maidan on Tuesday.

Vijay Kumar Sharma, the 51-year-old chairman of JVG group of companies and a proclaimed cheat on the run for three years, was arrested from near Pragati Maidan on Tuesday.

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Sharma, who aimed to set up a business empire worth Rs 12,000 crore but ended up as a thug, carried a reward of Rs l lakh over his head.

A school-dropout and son of a government school teacher, Sharma was allegedly involved in duping lakhs of investors all over the country to the tune of around Rs 1,000 crore. He cheated people by floating 17 companies under the banner of JVG group.

Police said Sharma’s victims include several politicians and bureaucrats who had invested their black money in his illegal real estate business. In April 2012, the Supreme Court had cancelled his bail plea and had asked him to surrender.

But Sharma went underground.

Ravindra Yadav, additional CP (crime), said Sharma was apprehended from near Pragati Maidan after a chase of around 10 km. Sharma, who was evading arrest for the past three years, was driving a Mercedes E-class car registered in the name of his first wife.

A licensed .32 bore pistol and five live cartridges were recovered from him.

Sharma, who was wanted in over a dozen cheating cases, launched his first company ‘JVG’ in September 1989. He entered the real estate business and duped several investors.

“He wanted to set up mega townships in Gurgaon, Patna, Mumbai and Hyderabad, and to acquire hotel and cement interests of the Jaiprakash Industries, the steel units of Rathi Alloys and the aircraft of ModiLuft,” Yadav said.

Sharma had announced that he would invest over Rs 4,000 crore in diverse areas such as power, cement, hotels, steel, textiles and aviation. He also launched ‘Avatar’ brand of detergent and washing bars to enter the FMCG segment.