A former lecturer with a university in Uttar Pradesh, who had allegedly cheated people on the pretext of arranging for them computer data-entry jobs with handsome returns, has been arrested at Bhubaneswar in Odisha. The accused was on the run since 2003.
Avinash Kumar Pundir (44), then living at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, was booked in two cases at the Kirti Nagar and Preet Vihar police stations in 2003. The cases were later investigated by the Economic Offences Wing.
Kirti Nagar Station House Officer Ranjay Atrishya recently received a tip-off that the fugitive had been living in hiding at Bhubaneswar. Subsequently a team was dispatched and the accused arrested. “He was brought to the Capital and produced before a city court that sent him to judicial custody,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (West Delhi) V. Renganathan.
Fugitive
Accused Avinash, a Ph.D degree holder, earlier worked as a sociology lecturer. He lost his job after he went underground as cheating cases were registered against him.
According to the police, Avinash had floated a company named DSA Consultant along with his wife Sangita Singh, who is still a proclaimed offender in the case, and accomplice Deepak Kumar. They offered data-entry work for a monthly income of Rs.80,000, took security amount of Rs.2 lakh from the applicants and then vanished from the scene.
One of the victims, Harvinder Singh Saggu, initially paid the security amount and was assured that he would be provided the work for Rs.80,000 per month. The accused initially gave him some work, but soon stopped sending him assignments and asked for further security amount of Rs.10 lakh.
The complainant paid the amount, following which the accused went underground.
