On the run for 7 years, mine mafia arrested in Rs 100 cr fraud cases in Delhi
India Today
A mine mafia, Pradeep Paliwal, who had been on the run for the past 7 years, has been arrested for his alleged involvement in four fraud cases to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
The Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a mine mafia fugitive, Pradeep Paliwal, resident of Delhi's Vasant Vihar, for his alleged involvement in four fraud cases to the tune of Rs 100 crore.
Pradeep Paliwal alias Mahesh Gupta (70), who was wanted in Delhi, Gurugram, Rajasthan fraud cases had been evading his arrest for the last seven years.
In January, 2014, accused Pradeep Paliwal induced the complainant, Shakuntala Devi, to invest Rs 20 crore in his granite mining business in Rajasthan, assuring that he would pay her Rs 50 lakh per month. On this assurances, the complainant agreed to invest and an MOU was executed between the two in 2014.
The complainant then paid Rs 13.45 crore through cheques/ RTGS and cash Rs 3.15 crore from February 2014 to September 2014. On March 3, 2014, Pradeep executed a sale deed in respect of 1.4 hectares of land in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, in favour of complainant Shakuntala for consideration of Rs 21 lakh. However, the accused failed to fulfill his promise to the complainant, following which she registered a complaint.
In 2006, Pradeep reportedly got a HSIDC plot registered in his name with the help of forged papers regarding which FIR was lodged at PS Udyog Vihar, Gurugram. In 2015, he obtained a loan from HDFC Bank to the tune of Rs 12 crore on already mortgaged property for which an FIR was lodged at PS Karol Bagh.
During the course of the investigation, misrepresentation by the accused Pradeep Paliwal was reflected in the MOU dated August 20, 2014. Pradeep had cheated the complainant to the tune of Rs 20 crore.
Jt CP (EOW) Chhaya Sharma said, "The accused had hatched a well planned conspiracy and lured the complainant to invest Rs 20 crore through misrepresentation. After duping the complainant, he started shifting his hideouts from Delhi to other states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab."
