Key accused nabbed at Jaipur airport while trying to flee country

Sunil Gurjar alias Monty Gurjar, key accused in the animal husbandry department fake tender scam, was arrested by UP Special Task Force from Jaipur airport on Saturday night, said STF’s officiating superintendent of police (SP) Vishal Vikram Singh.

The SP said Sunil was arrested when he was trying to board a Dubai-bound flight to escape from India. He said Sunil had purchased a ₹8 crore flat in Marine Beach, Dubai where he had planned to stay after leaving the country.

Singh said a look-out notice had been issued against Sunil, son of former MLA Ram Narain Gurjar from Nasirabad in Ajmer of Rajasthan, and added that Sunil’s name had also surfaced in the infamous Bhanwari Devi murder case of September 2011. Besides, a few other cases of fraud had been registered against him in the past, Singh added.

Singh said Sunil carried a reward of Rs 50,000 on his arrest since June this year, and added that he was wanted by the UP police as the key accused in connection with a fraud of ₹9.72 core with an Indore businessman. The fraud was exposed by UP STF after arrest of four people, including the main accused Ashish Rai, and electronic news channel senior journalist Anil

Rai on June 14. Later, six more people were arrested and Sunil is 11th accused to be arrested in the case, Singh said.

On June 13, the Indore businessman Manjeet Singh Bhatia had lodged an FIR with the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow against 12 people and some other unidentified persons for duping him of ₹ 9.72 crore by floating a fake tender in the name of the Uttar Pradesh animal husbandry department between March 2017 and 2018.

The fraudsters had earlier duped another businessman from Ahmedabad assuring to provide him a contract for salt purchase in UP.

Two IPS officers of deputy inspector general rank -- Arvind Sen and Dinesh Chandra Dubey -- are presently under suspension since September 9 for their alleged connections with the fraudsters. Arvind Sen is also being investigated in the case as the Indore businessman had stated that Sen had called him to his office in Vibhuti Khand, Lucknow when he was posted as SP CB-CID in 2019 and threatened him with dire consequences.

Sunil was arrested when he was trying to board a Dubaibound flight to escape from India. He had purchased a ₹8 crore flat in Marine Beach, Dubai where he had planned to stay after leaving the country

VISHAL VIKRAM SINGH. , SP, STF