Sahara India fraud: Absconding branch manager arrested after nearly three years in Raigarh
Raipur:
Raigarh Police have arrested an absconding branch manager of Sahara India who had been on the run for nearly three years in connection with a multi-crore investment fraud that allegedly duped 3,848 investors of more than ₹40.78 crore.
The arrest was made under the district police’s special drive, Operation Clean Hunt, launched to trace and apprehend absconding accused. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shashi Mohan Singh said the accused, Vijay Kumar Sharaf (54), former branch manager of Sahara India at Kabir Chowk, Raigarh, was arrested from the Kotra Road area on July 20 and was subsequently produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody.
The case stems from an FIR registered at Kotwali Police Station on September 29, 2022, following a complaint by Vikas Nigania (35), a resident of Krishna Vihar Colony, Raigarh. The complainant alleged that officials and employees of Sahara India induced him, his mother and his wife to invest nearly ₹40 lakh in various schemes during 2017 by claiming that the company was trustworthy and authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Despite the maturity of the investment schemes, the money was allegedly not returned.
During the investigation, police found that investors’ money had allegedly been collected in the name of Sahara India, while bonds were issued through various cooperative societies, resulting in what investigators described as a planned financial fraud.
Police said documents collected from the district administration, banks, government departments and investors revealed the involvement of several senior functionaries of the Sahara India Group, including branch managers, sector managers and regional officials.
Earlier in the investigation, Kotwali Police arrested former Raigarh branch manager Om Prakash Sharma, former Kharsia branch manager Pushpendra Kumar Sahu, company director Karunesh Awasthi, sector manager Amrit Lal Shrivas and Bilaspur regional manager Rajneesh Tiwari. Charge sheets have already been filed against them before the Special Judge’s Court in Raigarh.
Investigators also seized identity cards, appointment and work-related documents, bank account records, land documents, and a car and motorcycle allegedly purchased using proceeds of the fraud.
Police said complaints received from Raigarh and other districts have so far established an alleged fraud involving 3,848 investors amounting to ₹40,78,16,739.
According to police, Vijay Kumar Sharaf had been evading arrest and frequently changing his whereabouts. Acting on a tip-off that he had visited his in-laws’ residence in Kotra Road, a Kotwali Police team detained him. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed important information related to the case. Police also seized development and administrative orders pertaining to the Sahara India franchise office at Kabir Chowk, along with copies of company MoUs, from his possession.
SSP Shashi Mohan Singh said police would continue pursuing all remaining absconding accused in the Sahara India investment scam and take further legal action as fresh evidence emerges.
“No person involved in cheating investors will be allowed to evade the law. Raigarh Police are continuously tracking absconding accused in economic offences, and strict legal action against those who betray public trust will continue,” the SSP said.
Police said Kotwali Police Station in-charge Inspector Sukhnandan Patel, Assistant Sub-Inspector Wilfred Masih and other members of the investigation team played a key role in tracing and arresting the accused.
