The fraudsters could not escape even after 25 years – Chamoli Police arrested the absconding accused of Himgiri Plantation scam, who was carrying a reward of ₹ 5000/- and who looted the public by showing them the dream of ‘doubling the money’.
Sunil Negi
Chamoli Police has a clear message for those who play with the dreams and hard-earned money of the common people – no matter how old the crime is, it is impossible to escape the law.
In this connection, Ravindra Mohan, the rewardee and absconding accused of ‘Himgiri Plantation’ fraud case, who was absconding since 2001, was arrested by Chamoli Police after almost 25 years.
This case is of the year 2001, when the plaintiff Shiv Prasad, resident of Kalimath, district Rudraprayag, had lodged a complaint of serious fraud in Gopeshwar police station.
Accused Ravindra Mohan son of Sher Singh Rana and his brother Rakesh Mohan, both residents of village Jamu, police station Guptkashi, district Rudraprayag, had established a company named “Himgiri Plantation” in the year 1993.
The two accused lured people by promising them that their investments in the company would double their money in a short time and offer attractive interest. In 2001, the two brothers fled overnight with millions of rupees of public money.
In connection with the above serious fraud, FIR No. 268/2001 under Section 406/420 IPC vs Ravindra Mohan and FIR No. 269/2001 under Section 406/420 IPC vs Rakesh Mohan were registered at Gopeshwar Police Station.
Both the accused were declared as absconding by the Hon’ble Court, after which permanent non-bailable warrants were issued against them by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chamoli.
Under the campaign to arrest absconding/wanted accused being run from the police headquarters level by Superintendent of Police Chamoli Surjeet Singh Panwar, such old and serious cases were reviewed station-wise in crime meetings from time to time.
Strict instructions were issued to subordinate officers. In accordance with these instructions, a reward of ₹5,000 was announced for the arrest of the absconding accused.
A special police team was formed under the leadership of Sub Inspector Satendra Butola to arrest the reward accused.
The police team carried out extensive search for the accused through innovative techniques, technical analysis, various forms, nationwide records.
During this time, a Delhi address belonging to the accused came to light, and police teams were sent to Delhi and Noida to verify it.
The investigation revealed that the accused was traveling to his home area for a private event.
On this input, the police team laid a strategic trap by continuously chasing the accused and finally on 15/12/2025, the accused Ravindra Mohan was successfully arrested from Fata, District Rudraprayag.
The arrested accused is being presented before the Honorable Court as per the rules. Meanwhile, the police are conducting an intensive operation to apprehend Rakesh Mohan, the second main accused in this case who is absconding, and he will also be arrested soon.
In this regard, Chamoli Superintendent of Police, Surjeet Singh Panwar, categorically stated, “Criminals involved in organized financial crimes and looting the hard-earned money of the public will not be spared at any cost.
This action of Chamoli Police is proof that no matter how many years a criminal remains absconding, he cannot escape the clutches of law.”
The individual officers of the police team involved in this operation are :
– Sub-Inspector Satendra Butola (Special Operations Group)
2- Head Constable Ankit Pokhriyal (Special Operations Group)
3- Constable Ashutosh Tiwari (Special Operations Group)
4- Constable Ravikant (Special Operations Group)
5-Constable Salman (Special Operations Group)
6-Constable Kamlesh Sajwan (Kotwali Karnaprayag)
Technical Team
1-Sub-Inspector Pramod Khugshaal
2-Constable Rajendra Singh Rawat
