A joint team of Lucknow crime branch and Aliganj police station on Sunday nabbed Gyan Prakash Upadhyay, president, Shine City Infra Project Private Limited, in connection with a multi-crore fraud case.
Carrying a reward of ₹50,000 on his head, Ayodhya (Faizabad) resident Upadhyay, who had been evading arrest for long, was arrested from near Ravindra Garden.
“Under the Shine City Infra Project, which started operations in 2013, public across Uttar Pradesh were allegedly deceived with promises of affordable housing and attractive investment returns. Operating under various names such as Shine City Properties Pvt Ltd and Shine City Developers Pvt Ltd, the company allegedly promised investors high returns and discount on luxury items like cars and jewellery,” said DCP, north, Abhijith R Shankar.
The DCP said police seized several luxury vehicles owned by the accused. “These vehicles were allegedly purchased using funds obtained through fraudulent means,,” the cop said.
As per police sources, Upadhyay, along with his accomplices including company’s CMDs Rashid Naseem and Asif Naseem, planned a scam involving numerous fictitious companies and misleading investment strategies.
The investigation into the fraud has uncovered more than 550 cases registered against the company in various districts of Uttar Pradesh. These cases include charges under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
“The arrest of Gyan Prakash Upadhyay is a significant step in our ongoing efforts to combat financial fraud and protect public interests,” the DCP said.
“Our teams are actively pursuing leads to apprehend others involved in the fraud,” he added. Upadhyay has 19 crime cases, including cheating, criminal breach of trust and forgery, registered against him.