Nagpur, India: The Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the City Police has apprehended Kishorkumar Sunder Lalla, a notorious conman, from Gujarat for defrauding a local trader of over Rs 1.86 crore. Lalla, along with his brother Umesh and accomplice Shaheen Ezaz Husain, deceived Padam Ghai, a footwear shop owner, by pretending to be recovery agents.

Kishorkumar, a resident of Mumbai, initially gained Ghai’s trust by claiming to be a recovery agent from Sigma Company, which he said handled cases with the Debts Recovery Tribunal. He initially impressed Ghai by offering to procure a laptop for Ghai’s son at a reduced price, and later promised to arrange vehicles for Ghai’s family members under similar terms.

Taking advantage of this trust, Kishorkumar convinced Ghai to invest in a property valued at Rs 4 crore, assuring him he could secure it for Rs 1.86 crore. Between January and December 2022, Ghai transferred Rs 1.86 crore to Kishorkumar’s bank account. However, Kishorkumar provided Ghai with fraudulent bank receipts. When Ghai discovered the scam, he confronted Kishorkumar, who then issued two cheques that bounced. Ghai subsequently filed a complaint with the Tehsil Police.

A case was registered under Sections 420 (cheating), 419 (impersonation), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 466 (forgery of public documents), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code against Kishorkumar, Umesh, and Shaheen. The EoW took over the investigation and arrested Umesh and Shaheen, but Kishorkumar had been on the run.

Following a tip-off, EoW officers tracked Kishorkumar to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and arrested him. He was subsequently brought back to the city, where the court granted a six-day remand for his custodial interrogation. The arrest was carried out by a team led by Pandurang Fadey under the supervision of DCP (EoW) Archit Chandak.