STF nabs 2 brothers wanted in Rs 500-cr investment fraud

Budaun: Two brothers wanted for allegedly duping more than 35,000 investors in Budaun and Bareilly of over Rs 500 crore have been arrested by a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF) and Badaun police, officials said.

The accused, identified as Amar Jyoti Universe Nidhi Limited directors Shashikant Maurya and Suryakant Maurya, had been absconding for around one-and-a-half years, police said. The STF’s Noida unit and Kotwali Badaun police arrested the brothers on Monday, according to officials.

A case against them has been registered at Kotwali Badaun under sections 318(4), 316(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 352 and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery of valuable security, forgery for cheating, using forged documents, intentional insult and criminal intimidation, respectively.

Police said the brothers allegedly lured people to invest money through Amar Jyoti Universe Nidhi Limited by promising high returns and later misappropriated the funds. According to the police, more than Rs 500 crore was allegedly collected from investors across Budaun, Bareilly, Pilibhit and other districts. Around 15,000 investors in Budaun alone are believed to have been affected. Badaun SSP Ankita Sharma said several cases had been registered against the brothers in Budaun and Bareilly. The accused had approached the court to avoid arrest, she said, adding that the Allahabad High Court lifted the stay on their arrest in April 2026, clearing the way for police action.

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The Hans India