Two arrested in Nainital for multi-crore investment fraud

my uttarakhand news Bureau
Nainital, 5 Feb: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manjunath TC today addressed the media and made a major disclosure in a large-scale financial fraud case in which many people have been allegedly cheated of crores of rupees by luring them with promises of higher interest returns and guaranteed investments. Acting on the SSP’s directions for swift and effective action in serious criminal cases pending for over a year, a special team was constituted under the supervision of Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Haldwani Manoj Kumar Katyal, Circle Officer (CO) Haldwani Amit Saini and CO Ramnagar Sumit Pandey, led by Inspector-in-Charge Ramnagar Sushil Kumar.
In this regard, a major financial scam registered at Kotwali Ramnagar as FIR No. 246/23 dated 13 June 2023 under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code has been successfully unearthed. During the course of investigation, it emerged that an organisation named Devbhoomi Bahuddeshiya Swayatt Sahkarita was established in 2017 with offices at Kapil Complex, Mukhani in Haldwani, and Ramnagar. The accused allegedly projected the institution as registered with the Uttarakhand government and induced innocent citizens from Almora, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Champawat, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital districts to invest large amounts of money by offering higher interest rates and assurances of guaranteed returns.
The Police investigation revealed that an amount of approximately Rs 6.80 crores was collected from thousands of investors, which was allegedly misappropriated by the institution’s chairman Hemchand Pant and secretary Vikas Durgapal in connivance with their associates, after which they absconded. During the verification, both the branch offices were found closed, while scrutiny of bank accounts disclosed transactions amounting to several crores of rupees. Following the issue of warrants and attachment orders by the court, continuous raids were conducted across Delhi, Haryana and Lucknow. On 4 February 2026, the police team successfully arrested both the main accused from the Lalkuan area.
Further investigation has also revealed that multiple cases of cheating and fraud are already registered against the accused at other police station and the involvement of additional persons in the racket is also suspected. The Police officials have indicated that further arrests are likely in the coming days as the probe progresses.
The criminal history of the accused includes three registered cases, comprising FIR No. 246/23 under Section 409 IPC at Kotwali Ramnagar, and two cases at Police Station Mukhani, namely Case Crime No. 181/25 under Section 420 IPC along with Sections 3/21 of the BUDS Act and Section 3 of the UPID Act, and Case Crime No. 50/23 under Section 420 IPC. The arrested accused have been identified as Hemchand Pant, son of Govind Ballabh Pant, resident of Haripur Nayak, Kusumkhera, Police Station Mukhani, district Nainital, aged 45 years, and Vikas Durgapal, son of Khimanand Durgapal, resident near SKM School, Dehriya, Kotwali Haldwani, district Nainital, aged 41 years. Investigators have disclosed that amounts of Rs 2.26 crores and Rs 4.58 crores were credited to their respective accounts.
According to Manjunath TC, the arrest operation was carried out by a team comprising Sub-Inspector Deepak Singh Bisht of Lalkuan, Constable Anandpuri and Constable Jitendra Bisht. The SSP has announced a cash reward of Rs 2,500 for the police team in recognition of their effective work.
In addition, SSP Manjunath TC has issued an appeal to the citizens to remain cautious of schemes promising unusually high returns. He has advised people to independently verify the registration, legal status and authenticity of any institution or investment scheme before committing their money, and to immediately inform the police about any suspicious activity or instances of fraud. He reiterated that Nainital Police is fully committed to taking strict action against criminals and ensuring the safety and financial security of citizens.