Baban Shinde, a key suspect in a Rs300 crore multi-state scam, has been arrested by the Beed police after being on the run for nearly a year. Shinde, who had been evading arrest since July 2023, was captured in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, where he had been living under disguise as a saint.
Shinde is implicated in a series of fraudulent activities that defrauded depositors from Beed and Dharashiv districts. He is believed to have orchestrated the massive scam through the Jijau Mahasaheb Multi-State Bank in Beed, which is at the center of the fraud. According to the Beed police, Shinde is linked to five cases of fraud involving large sums of money from unsuspecting depositors.
The scam, which was uncovered after a thorough investigation, saw Shinde embezzle over Rs300 crore. Once the scale of the fraud became clear, Shinde fled the area on July 3, 2023, and had been on the run ever since, moving across various states and even venturing into Nepal. His trail included stops in Delhi, Assam, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, where he frequently changed his appearance and used different SIM cards to evade capture.
The arrest was the result of a special operation conducted by the Beed police. They tracked Shinde down to a room near the Krishna Temple in Vrindavan, where he had been hiding. Despite his efforts to remain incognito, Shinde’s arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation.
Shinde is now considered the prime suspect in the multi-state fraud case, and his arrest is expected to help authorities unravel further details about the scam. The police are hopeful that his detention will expedite the investigation and allow them to track down other individuals involved in the illegal activities.
Before fleeing, Shinde had been involved in running a fraudulent credit union, the Jijau Mahasaheb Credit Union, which had branches in both Beed and Dharashiv. Investigators are continuing to probe the full extent of his involvement in the scam, with further details expected to emerge in the coming days.
Shinde’s capture in Vrindavan marks the end of a nearly year-long manhunt, and the Beed police are now working to recover the stolen funds and bring other accomplices to justice.