Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau.
Rudrapur: The Special Task Force (STF) of the Kumaon region has arrested Ashutosh Chaturvedi, the director of JKV Multi Credit Cooperative Society, in a major breakthrough. Chaturvedi, who had been absconding for two years, was arrested near the bus stand in Udham Singh Nagar district headquarters, Rudrapur on Tuesday. He is accused of defrauding crores of rupees by promising high returns on investments in his cooperative society.
According to STF Inspector MP Singh, “The accused, along with his associates, formed JKV Multi State Credit Cooperative Society. They opened branches in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar, luring people with promises of high interest on their investments. The society embezzled crores of rupees through these schemes.”
In Uttarakhand alone, Chaturvedi allegedly embezzled about Rs 1.25 crore in Khatima and Rs 90 lakh in Haldwani. There are three cases of fraud and cheating registered against him, with cases lodged at Haldwani Police Station in Nainital district, Gangnahar Police Station in Haridwar district in Uttarakhand, and Sadar Bazar Police Station in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. A reward of ₹Rs 25,000 had been announced for his capture.
“The directors, officers, and employees of the society targeted the illiterate, poor, and unemployed, promising to double their money in a short period. They opened accounts, deposited money, and later transferred these amounts to the society’s account for embezzlement,” said Singh. The ongoing investigation has uncovered an embezzlement of over Rs 2 crore, with the scam potentially reaching several crores across multiple states”, Inspector Singh further said.
Senior Superintendent of STF Ayush Agarwal said, “A case has now been registered at Haldwani Police Station. Our teams are actively working to arrest other accomplices, and more arrests will follow soon.”
