Latest news with #NikantJain
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Fresh FIR against Nikant Jain for Rs 4 crore bank fraud
1 2 3 Lucknow: Hazratganj police on Tuesday lodged a fresh FIR against Nikant Jain, the alleged kingpin in the Rs 8,000-crore solar commission scam. This is the sixth FIR against Jain, who is currently lodged in Lucknow district jail. Three FIRs were lodged starting March 20 from his arrest in Gomtinagar, then in Wazirgaj on May 26, and then in Hazratganj on June 10. The other FIRs are one each in Meerut, Etah, and one more in Wazirganj lodged in 2019. This new case is linked to a massive financial fraud involving forged property valuations and criminal conspiracy to defraud Indian Bank of Rs 4 crore in 2017–2018. The new FIR was registered on the complaint of Ashish Jindal, branch manager of Indian Bank's Stressed Asset Management Branch, Lucknow. As per the FIR, Jain, along with his co-accused — Sukant Jain and Vaishali Jain —fraudulently obtained a loan of Rs 4 crore in the name of their registered company, M/s SSJ Agrotech Pvt Ltd. The loan was taken against two properties mortgaged by the company. However, later, the company sought permission from the bank to substitute the first property with a third property. This substitution was approved by the bank. Things took a turn in 2018 when the account turned into a Non-Performing Asset (NPA). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like SNS에서 화제인 그 팔찌, 예쁜데 의미까지... 굿네이버스 더 알아보기 Undo During SARFAESI proceedings, a fresh valuation of the substituted property revealed that its actual market value was significantly lower than earlier presented. The inquiry, led by an internal committee, concluded that M/s SSJ Agrotech grossly inflated the value of the mortgaged properties. The bank declared the account as "fraud" and blacklisted the valuers involved. It initially approached the CBI for action but instead served a final notice to the company on Oct 21, 2024. Later, the bank approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Lucknow, with a formal request to register an FIR, said ACP, Hazratganj, Vikas Kumar Jaiswal.
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Invest UP case: Court grants bail to key accused
Nikant Jain, a key accused in the solar plant bribery case, has been granted bail by the court of Special Judge, Prevention of Corruption Act. The court of additional district judge, Prevention of Corruption Act, granted bail to Nikant Jain on Thursday (May 22). The order is yet to be uploaded on the court's website. The court ordered Jain to furnish a bail bond and a personal surety of ₹2 lakh each. According to the prosecution, Nikant Jain allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹5 crore from a company in exchange for approving a solar cell and solar equipment manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh through Invest UP. The bribe was allegedly demanded on behalf of a senior IAS officer, Abhishek Prakash, who was the CEO of Invest UP at the time. Jain was arrested on March 20 after the case came to light and was sent to jail. However, the alleged bribe amount was not recovered from him. His lawyer argued that he was not a public servant, and therefore, the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act did not apply to him. The lawyer also claimed that the police did not have any concrete evidence against Jain and that he was not found to be involved in the alleged crime. Since the bribe amount was not recovered from Nikant Jain, the court granted him bail. A chargesheet was filed against Jain on May 19 under sections 308(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The chargesheet relies heavily on witness statements and mobile call records. Jain was allegedly playing the role of a facilitator in executing the project in lieu of a kickback. An FIR was lodged at the Gomti Nagar police station against Jain under sections of BNS. The state government took action on the complaint lodged by the company, SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited. The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Vishwajeet Dutt, an employee of the company—SAEL Solar P6 Private Limited. In the complaint, Dutt pointed out that his company wanted to set up a plant in the state for manufacturing parts related to solar plant. For this project, the company submitted online and offline applications at the office of Invest UP at PICUP Bhawan, Gomti Nagar. The project was vetted by a committee of Invest UP and approved. According to the FIR, a senior official of Invest UP asked Dutt to contact one Nikant Jain and handed over his cell phone number. When Dutt contacted Jain over the phone, the latter allegedly demanded 5% of the total cost of the project as kickback. When Dutt refused, the project was again sent for re-evaluation by the Invest UP CEO. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had on May 20 suspended Invest UP CEO Abhishek Prakash over allegations of seeking bribe in approving a solar power plant project and ordered a probe against him. The same day, the Lucknow police arrested Nikant Jain.
