Police have arrested the wife of alleged fraud mastermind Sukanta Subrata Banerjee in a case where investors were allegedly shown documents carrying the names of NASA, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Reserve Bank of India and Axis Bank before being promised extraordinary returns.
Shalini Naskar was arrested from Kolkata by Ramgarhtal Police after investigators said evidence indicated her alleged involvement in persuading people to invest in the scheme. Sukanta Banerjee had already been arrested and sent to jail.
In the present case, contractor Vibhav Dhar Dubey, a resident of Badgo in Gorakhpur, alleged that he invested around ₹30 lakh after being told his money would go into an international project dealing with rare radioactive metals and space-related equipment.
Police say investors were promised returns of around 100 times their investment within two years.
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Fake Authority Allegedly Made the Scheme Look Real
According to Dubey’s complaint, he met Lucknow resident Amit Kumar Nandi and Kolkata resident Sukanta Banerjee in August 2009.
Sukanta allegedly introduced himself as the chief coordinator of a scientific project connected with NASA. He claimed investors could participate in international trade involving rare radioactive metals and space equipment.
The pitch was allegedly supported with documents and letterheads carrying the names of major institutions.
Police say Sukanta showed purported certificates and correspondence linked to NASA, the Prime Minister’s Office, RBI and Axis Bank to make the proposal appear genuine.
Dubey subsequently invested around ₹30 lakh, according to the FIR. The money was allegedly given to Sukanta, Chandicharan Adhikari and Shalini Naskar.
The promised profit never arrived, and the principal amount was also not returned, the complainant alleged.
Why Famous Names Make Investment Scams More Convincing
This type of fraud relies heavily on what investigators and fraud researchers often describe as authority impersonation or credibility borrowing.
The basic method is simple.
Instead of asking victims to trust an unknown individual, scammers attach themselves to institutions people already recognise and respect.
NASA suggests cutting-edge science. RBI suggests financial legitimacy. The Prime Minister’s Office suggests government approval. A major bank’s name adds another layer of credibility.
None of those associations is proof that the institutions were actually involved.
A document carrying a government logo, letterhead or signature can be fabricated. An investor should always verify such claims directly with the institution whose name is being used.
Another major warning sign was the promised return itself.
A claim that ₹1 can become ₹100 within two years means a 10,000% return on the original investment. Legitimate investments do not offer guaranteed returns of that scale without extraordinary and clearly disclosed risk.
When a scheme promises enormous profits while claiming official or government backing, the combination should immediately trigger suspicion.
Older Court Record Shows Similar NASA-Linked Allegations
The allegations surrounding Sukanta Banerjee appear to extend well beyond the present Gorakhpur complaint.
An Allahabad High Court order from April 2021 refers to a 2018 Lucknow FIR in which Sukanta Subrata Banerjee and another accused were alleged to have taken ₹50 lakh from a complainant after claiming that their company dealt with NASA and promising to double the investment within a year.
The High Court record does not establish guilt in that underlying fraud allegation. It records the prosecution’s case while dealing with an anticipatory bail application.
But it is significant because it shows that NASA-linked investment allegations involving Sukanta were already before the criminal justice system years before the latest arrest.
Recent Gorakhpur investigations have also produced multiple complaints.
In November 2025, another contractor alleged he was cheated of ₹80 lakh after being shown purported documents connected with NASA, PMO, RBI and Axis Bank. Police arrested Sukanta in that case.
Another FIR followed in December after further complainants accused Sukanta and Shalini of using similar NASA-related investment claims.
Police Say Network Extended Across Several Cities
The present investigation is now widening.
Police say three FIRs are registered against Sukanta in Gorakhpur and five in Deoria. He also faces cases involving alleged cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy in Lucknow, Kanpur and Kolkata.
In a 2019 forgery case registered at Lucknow’s Mahanagar Police Station, a ₹10,000 reward was reportedly announced for information leading to his arrest.
Investigators are now looking for other members of the alleged network and tracing where investors’ money went.
Bank accounts, phone records, forged documents and communications between the accused could help establish whether the operation used a common set of documents and claims across different cities.
Police will also need to determine who created the purported NASA, PMO, RBI and bank documents and whether the same material was repeatedly shown to different victims.
Shalini’s arrest is based on her alleged role identified during the investigation. The allegations against her and other accused remain subject to proof in court.
For investigators, the central question is no longer simply whether one contractor lost ₹30 lakh.
It is whether an apparently long-running network repeatedly used the prestige of globally recognised institutions to convince investors that impossible profits were backed by official authority.
What this means for you: Treat any investment promising guaranteed or extraordinarily high returns as a major warning sign, especially when promoters invoke NASA, RBI, government offices or major banks. Verify such claims directly through official channels before transferring money.
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