Srinagar: Evading arrest for the past 18 years, a proclaimed offender wanted in multiple cases of cheating was arrested by the Crime Branch Kashmir’s Economic Offences Wing, Srinagar, from New Delhi on Tuesday.
A statement of the Crime Branch, Kashmir, issued here said that a ‘proclaimed offender’ Samiullah Sheikh of Darish Kadal, Srinagar, presently residing at Arampora Nawakadal, Srinagar was arrested from New Delhi.
The statement said that he was wanted in multiple cases of cheating and had been evading arrest for the last 18 years.
It said that the modus operandi adopted by the accused in committing financial crimes was that he would fabricate fake and forged revenue documents and hoodwink the banks by availing hefty loans against such documents.
The statement said that he had swindled more than Rs 1 crore from various banks and had been constantly changing his residential locations since the year 2007 to escape the clutches of law. It said that a special team of Economic Offences Wing Srinagar (Crime Branch Kashmir), which had been assiduously been working on tracing the conman, succeeded in locating and arresting him from his hide-out in the Lajpat Nagar area of New Delhi.
The statement said that in case FIR No 59/2007 of Police Station, Special Crime Wing Srinagar (Crime Branch Kashmir), the accused was involved in hatching a criminal conspiracy to fraudulently avail a loan to the tune of Rs 48 lakh from the Indian Overseas Bank branch Dalgate, Srinagar, on the basis of fake and forged revenue documents.
It said that the case was charge-sheeted against him in absentia under Section 512 CrPC as well as the other co-accused under Section 420, 468, 471, and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) before the court of competent jurisdiction. The statement said that in case FIR No 34/2015 of Police Station Economic Offences Wing Srinagar (Crime Branch Kashmir), the accused was involved in hatching a criminal conspiracy to fraudulently avail a loan to the tune of Rs 37.80 lakh from J&K Bank branch Zainakote, Srinagar, on the basis of fake and forged revenue documents.
It said that the case was charge-sheeted against him in absentia under Section 512 CrPC as well as the other co-accused under Section 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B of the RPC before the court of competent jurisdiction.
The statement said that during the trial of the case, the Court of Principal District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, had declared him a ‘proclaimed offender’. It said that the accused was also wanted in case FIR No 05/2019 of Police Station Economic Offences Wing Srinagar (Crime Branch, Kashmir) which pertains to the availing of a loan of Rs 30 lakh by producing fake and forged documents.
