Lucknow / Uttar Pradesh: The Uttar Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested Vikas Bhatnagar, an assistant manager of a private Credit Cooperative Society Limited, in connection with a multi-crore investment fraud case. He was apprehended in Fatehgarh Sahib district, Punjab, and brought to Lucknow on Saturday.
According to EOW officials, Bhatnagar worked at the Agra branch of the company and allegedly played a key role in misappropriating investors’ funds. The society, headquartered in Kapoorthala, Lucknow, reportedly collected over Rs 14.36 crore from investors across districts including Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh, Etawah, and Shahjahanpur, promising attractive returns through investment schemes.
Investigators said that despite the completion of the maturity period, the company’s directors and senior officials failed to return the deposited amounts and instead fraudulently siphoned the money, constituting large-scale financial fraud.
The case was originally registered in 2021 at Kakadeo police station, Kanpur Nagar, under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. The investigation was later transferred to the EOW due to the scale and complexity of the scam.
During the probe, the EOW identified 15 accused, with 14 already facing court chargesheets, while Bhatnagar was a long-absconding accused who has now been apprehended as part of a statewide crackdown on financial crimes.
Officials confirmed that further investigation is ongoing to recover investors’ funds and bring all responsible parties to justice.
