Delhi Police solves Rs 98 lakh pharma fraud case after 13 years; accused held from Surat

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police solved an over a decade-old fraud case, arresting an elderly man carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 from Gujarat, who allegedly duped pharmaceutical companies of around Rs 98 lakh, an official said on Tuesday.

The police arrested Himmat Singh Lodha from a township area in Surat on May 24, he said, adding that Lodha was declared a proclaimed offender and wanted in a 2013 cheating case registered at Punjabi Bagh police station.

"In the case, he allegedly posed as the proprietor of a corporation and induced a pharmaceutical company to supply 550 kg of Gliclazide, a raw material used in medicines, worth over Rs 26 lakh," a senior police officer said.

According to the police, the accused issued post-dated cheques for payment, but the cheques were later dishonoured with the remark "account closed". Soon after receiving the material, Lodha allegedly vacated his office and residence and went into hiding.

The officer further said that he was declared a proclaimed offender by a Delhi court in July 2016 and a cash reward of Rs 50,000 was announced for information leading to his arrest.

"During the investigation, a team of the crime branch also found that Lodha had been declared a proclaimed offender in another cheating case registered at Rani Bagh police station in 2012. In that case, he allegedly used the fake identity of Kailash Jain and dishonestly obtained around 2,575 kg of Ambroxol HCL worth nearly Rs 72 lakh from another pharmaceutical company," the officer said.

Police said the accused used forged credentials and fake business identities to gain the confidence of pharmaceutical firms before placing large orders of raw materials. After obtaining the consignments, he allegedly shut down offices, vacated rented premises and disappeared to avoid legal action.

The team worked for nearly a month and tracked the accused through leads developed in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Surat before finally apprehending him in Surat.

Lodha, originally a resident of Rajasthan's Udaipur district, was currently involved in property-dealing activities in Surat and Mumbai, police added. Further legal proceedings are underway in both cases.