By Tannistha Dey
Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district police have arrested a crucial accused in the Himgiri Plantation fraud case, which came to the fore 25 years ago, officials said Monday (16 December 2025).
The Superintendent of Police in Chamoli, Surjit Singh Panwar, said that Ravindra Mohan, who has been on the run since the year 2001, was arrested by the Special Operations Group from Phata in Rudraprayag district on the basis of a technical input they received. “The accused has then been dodging arrest for more than two decades. He was tipped to attend a social event in his home region, and a team laid a trap for him, successfully apprehending him,” Mr. Panwar added.
This case traces its roots back to the year 2001, when a complaint was filed in the Gopeshwar Police Station by a certain Shiv Prasad, alleging a major case of financial fraud by a certain Ravindra Mohan and his brother, Rakesh Mohan. Prasad alleged that the brothers had started a company by the name “Himgiri Plantation” in 1993 and had attracted people by assuring them unusually high returns, including the doubling of money.
The alleged scheme targeted people living in the region, collecting lakhs of rupees before the offenders went into hiding. It was eventually found that there were no gains realised and that the operations of the organisation were fraudulent.
Based on the complaint, the police case has been registered under sections 406 (Criminal Breach of Trust) and 420 (Cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. Later on, both accused were declared absconders, and a non-bailable warrant had been ordered against them in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Chamoli.
After the arrest of Ravindra Mohan, he was produced before the court. He was sent into judicial custody. The police also claimed that they were trying to arrest Rakesh Mohan, one of the prime accused, who is still absconding.
Mr Panwar also said that there has been an effort to see that all those involved in the pending fraud case face justice.
Keywords: Himgiri Plantation fraud case, Uttarakhand Police, Chamoli Police, Ravindra Mohan arrest, Financial fraud, Investment scam, IPC Sections 406 and 420, Absconding accused.