The district police and the Special Operations Group have arrested two key aides of absconding chit fund operator Kanhaiya Gulati after a secret Zoom meeting video surfaced on social media, triggering swift administrative action. Gulati, the managing director and chief executive officer of Canwiz Industries Limited, has been on the run facing charges in connection with a multi-crore investment scam. The footage showed Gulati interacting with his core network while two men attempted to dissuade him from visiting the city, claiming they were in regular contact with senior police officials. Acting on the viral footage, police teams tracked down the two suspects to the Rahpura underpass under the Fatehganj West police station limits within 36 hours of the clip circulating.
Senior Police Officers Named in Secret Online Meeting
The video recording captured Gulati sitting in the dark with his face concealed while addressing 44 trusted associates, internally termed as “lines”. During the online exchange, the participants discussed fund settlements and movement strategies. One of the suspects, identified as Vinay Srivastava, was heard telling Gulati not to enter Bareilly under any circumstances, warning that he risked immediate imprisonment. Srivastava claimed during the call that he had held a 15-minute conversation with Deputy Inspector General Ajay Kumar Sahni and further referred to City Superintendent of Police Manush Pareek. The associates advised Gulati to ignore incoming investor calls and attend exclusively to communications from the 44 core members, assuring him that the ground-level investors would be handled locally.
Arrests Follow Swift Surveillance and Location Tracking
The unauthorized use of top officers’ names prompted immediate directives from DIG Sahni to trace the individuals featured in the call. Cyber and surveillance units tracked their digital footprint, leading to the apprehension of Vinay Srivastava, a resident of the Kauwabagh Railway Colony in Gorakhpur, and Vishal Sharma, a resident of Aloknagar in the Izzatnagar area of Bareilly. Investigators noted that while both men had evaded arrest for nearly a year and a half despite warrants against them, the reference to senior district officers accelerated police action. During initial questioning, the accused confessed that their claims of contacting the DIG and City SP were fabricated. They stated that the names were invoked solely to mount pressure on Gulati to recover their trapped funds.
Multi-Agency Probe Intensifies Against Canwiz Syndicate
Police records show that Gulati is wanted across three states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, with 98 criminal cases registered against him. He has been declared a history-sheeter and carries a cash reward of 50,000 rupees on his arrest, alongside a look-out circular. The Enforcement Directorate, the Economic Offences Wing, and a special investigation team are probing the broader financial fraud. Inquiries revealed that Sharma had facilitated investments worth 80 lakh rupees, while Srivastava had brought in roughly 60 lakh rupees from others, amounting to 1.40 crore rupees in combined mobilizations. Srivastava, an employee with the Izzatnagar railway division between 1999 and 2011, disclosed that his family became associated with Gulati through private social gatherings. He subsequently lost his employment and personal savings after investing 40 lakh rupees of his own money alongside third-party funds. Both accused are being produced before the competent court as investigators prepare to seek police custody to identify other core group members and trace Gulati’s hideout.
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