In a major breakthrough, Gorakhpur police have arrested three individuals from Mumbai for allegedly duping investors of crores of rupees on the pretext of offering fake franchise licences for bars, lounges, cafés and salons of reputed brands, officials confirmed on Saturday.
Patil Nimish Dashrath, SP (city), Gorakhpur, said the accused will be brought to Gorakhpur on transit remand for further interrogation. According to police, the case was registered at Gorakhpur’s Ramgarh Tal police station following a written complaint by Juhi Singh, a resident of the Ramgarh Tal area, in December 2025. An FIR was lodged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was initiated.
During the investigation, police found that the accused used fake agreements, forged signatures and misleading documents to gain investors’ confidence. Payments ranging from ₹12.5 lakh to over ₹1 crore were allegedly collected and routed through multiple bank accounts.
Nitin Raghunath Srivastava, Ramgarh Tal police station house officer, said that following the FIR, police initially arrested Vaibhav Mani Tripathi, Karunesh Pratap Shahi and two others. Based on information obtained during interrogation, Shafique Khan, Krishna Devi and Naveen Ahuja were arrested from Mumbai.
Police suspect that the group targeted aspiring entrepreneurs across multiple cities, indicating a large inter-state fraud network. Authorities said more victims may come forward as the investigation progresses.
www.hindustantimes.com
#Gorakhpurlinked #multicrore #franchise #racket #held #Mumbai
