Inter-state fraudster held in Lucknow for swindling crores from bizmen

Hazratganj police on Saturday night nabbed an inter-state fraudster, who has been on run after swindling crores of rupees from several prominent businessmen under the guise of securing government tenders in different departments.
He has also been charged with defrauding a Ballia resident of ₹19.99 lakh by promising a smart meter contract.
“Cops arrested the accused from an apartment on Jopling road, and efforts are underway to trace his accomplices,” stated a police press note on Sunday.
“Identified as Kanhaiya Sharma, 45, a resident of Lucknow, he has defrauded people not only in Lucknow and other districts of UP but also in Mumbai, Delhi, and several other states,” said assistant commissioner of police Hazratganj, Arvind Kumar Verma, adding that a total of 11 fraud cases have been registered against him in Lucknow and other states.
“The thug Kanhaiya victimised people in Delhi, Mumbai, Banda, Varanasi, Lucknow, Mahoba and Kanpur. The police had been monitoring the accused for a long time, but he managed to evade capture each time by eluding them,” said police.
In a press note, Lucknow police stated that Kanhaiya formed a fake company and defrauded prominent businessmen of crores by promising them government contracts and leases. He would collect large sums of money from them and provide them with fake cheques in return and abscond after extorting significant amounts. He had set up his office in a lavish apartment in Lucknow and had posted a lookalike there to evade capture during police raids.
The matter came to light when Pawan Kumar Singh, a resident of Ballia, accused Kanhaiya of cheating him out of ₹19.99 lakh by promising to secure him a contract for installing smart meters in Ballia but absconded after embezzling the money intended for the work. A case was registered at Hazratganj police station upon discovering that he had established a company named Swaraj Kranti Infratech, which he used to defraud individuals.
“The accused has cases registered against him under sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471, 506 of the IPC and the Electricity Act,” the press note read.