MULTI-CRORE NATURE HEIGHTS INFRA SCAM: POLICE TEAMS RECOVER BMW CAR, MOBILE PHONES AND DOCUMENTS FROM HIS POSSESSION

CHANDIGARH/FAZILKA, April 9: In a major breakthrough in the multi-crore Nature Heights Infra Scam, the joint teams of Faridkot and Fazilka police have arrested the main accused identified as Neeraj Thathai alias Neeraj Arora, who was absconding for the last 8-9 years and declared Proclaimed Offender (PO), from district Poudi in Uttrakhand. The modus operandi used by the accused to collect the huge amount of money was to lure innocent people in lieu of giving them residential/commercial plots.

The development came close on the heels of the arrest of Amandeep Kamboj alias Aman Skoda of Fazilka, who was PO in eight cases and in 18 cases he jumped bail. He was arrested by the PO staff of Fazilka Police from Varanasi Uttar Pradesh on March 15, 2024.

NEERAJ ARORA WAS USING FAKE IDENTITIES

IGP Faridkot Range Gursharan Singh Sandhu and DIG Ferozepur Range Ranjit Singh Dhillon, while addressing a joint press conference on Tuesday, said that Police teams from both the districts headed by SP Investigation Fazilka Pardeep Singh Sandhu and DSP Narcotics Faridkot Iqbal Singh Sandhu under the overall supervision of SSP Faridkot Harjit Singh and SSP Fazilka Dr Pragya Jain successfully arrested the most wanted criminal Neeraj Arora from Shri Nagar Garhwal in district Poudi, Uttrakhand.

Police teams have also recovered one luxury BMW car, mobile phones and fake documents from the possession of accused Neeraj Arora.

IGP Gursharan Singh Sandhu said that the accused has been facing as many as 108 first information reports (FIRs) registered in 21 districts for defrauding people by promising money or plots to people in the state. Out of a total of 108 FIRs, Fazilka registered 47; Ferozepur registered eight; Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib registered six each; Rupnagar, Mohali, and SAS Nagar registered five each; and Faridkot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, and Jalandhar Commissionerate registered four each.

Neeraj Arora, the accused arrested by Fazilka Police in February 2016, jumped bail and was declared a proclaimed offender in February 2017. Currently, he is a proclaimed offender in at least 92 cases.  Enforcement Directorate has also registered cases and attached properties of Neeraj Thatai, while, many writ petitions are pending in the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh against him filed by the victims.

DIG Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that the accused was using fake IDs to evade his arrest. The accused has more than 1200 acres of land, and 200 residential flats in Punjab and MP state worth more than Rs 1,000 crores, he said.

. FARIDKOT AND FAZILKA POLICE ARREST 211 POs in 2024

Amidst the ongoing special drive to arrest Proclaimed Offenders (POs), the Fazilka Police and Faridkot Police have arrested as many as 211 POs this year so far. Fazilka Police arrested 150 POs, while Faridkot Police apprehended 61 POs.