The Entrustment Document Fraud Wing of the Central Crime Branch has arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly defrauding wholesale traders in Chennai, Coimbatore and Virudhunagar of ₹4 crore.
The accused was identified as R. Jaiganesh, 32, a native of Pollachi, who was holed up in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
The police said N.R. Balaji, of Tiruvottriyur, is a cereals wholesaler. A friend introduced him to M. Pandiarajan, of Triplicane, Jaiganesh, Murugesan, Hariharan and Uma, who claimed to be running a ‘Kishan ration shop’ by procuring cereals from farmers and wholesalers. They showed a forged agreement and claimed it was approved by the Union government.
Mr. Balaji had supplied them with cereals, worth ₹3.65 crore, since March 21. But Pandiarajan and his associates failed to pay. On Mr. Balaji’s complaint, the police arrested Pandiarajan and got him remanded in judicial custody in April.
A police team looking for the other absconders arrested Jaiganesh in Mathura and brought him to the city. He was remanded in judicial custody by a court.