Lucknow, October 9, 2025 — What began three decades ago as an ambitious plan to boost industrial development in Uttar Pradesh has ended as one of the state’s most enduring financial scandals. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested Sharad Prasad Chaturvedi, the prime accused in a ₹500-crore loan fraud that defrauded the Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation of Uttar Pradesh (PICUP) — a state-owned enterprise meant to nurture small and medium industries.
Chaturvedi, who had been absconding for years, was arrested on Tuesday from Mathura’s Sadar Bazar area following a coordinated EOW operation based on specific intelligence inputs. His arrest marks a breakthrough in a case that has remained unresolved for over two decades.
The Rise and the Scheme
In 1993, Chaturvedi was associated with Vijay Chemicals India Limited, a company based in Vishram Bazaar, Mathura. As one of the firm’s promoters, directors, and guarantors, he sought a substantial loan from PICUP to establish a new plant for producing ethyl alcohol and other chemical products.
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The project, on paper, appeared promising — a symbol of India’s emerging industrial ambitions in the post-liberalization era. But the investigation later revealed a very different reality: Chaturvedi and his associates had fabricated balance sheets, inflated asset valuations, and forged project documents to secure the loan.
Once the money was sanctioned, it was never used for industrial development. Instead, investigators allege, the funds were diverted and embezzled through shell entities and personal accounts. The factory that was supposed to create jobs and economic growth was never built.
Years of Delay and Investigation
The first signs of the fraud emerged in the early 2000s, and a First Information Report (FIR) was registered in 2004 at Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar police station. As the scale of the deception became clear, the investigation was handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
After years of inquiry, the EOW concluded that PICUP had suffered losses exceeding ₹580 crore. Four individuals were identified as the main conspirators. They were charged under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating, and breach of trust.
Despite several summons, Sharad Prasad Chaturvedi managed to evade arrest for nearly a decade. Non-bailable warrants and lookout circulars were issued, but he remained untraceable — until this week.
The Arrest in Mathura
Acting on confidential information, an EOW team launched a swift operation in Mathura’s Sadar Bazar area and arrested Chaturvedi without resistance.
He was transported to Lucknow for interrogation, where investigators are now trying to map the money trail — tracing where the loaned funds went and who benefited from them.
Officials described the arrest as a major milestone in reviving a case that had long symbolized the slow pace of white-collar crime investigations in India.
What the Case Reveals
Beyond the arrest itself, the PICUP loan scam raises broader questions about institutional accountability in India’s public financial system.
How could forged documents and inflated project valuations go undetected for years? Why were oversight mechanisms unable to prevent such large-scale misuse of public funds?
For the EOW, Chaturvedi’s arrest is not just the culmination of a manhunt, but a signal of renewed determination to hold economic offenders accountable. For the state, it is a reminder that the road from industrial promise to financial deceit is paved with weak vigilance and misplaced trust.
