In a major breakthrough, Dharwad district police have arrested a couple accused in a ₹23 crore investment fraud case while they were travelling on the Hubballi–Dharwad bypass.
The two, identified as Vuppalapati Satish Kumar and his wife Shilpa Banda from Hyderabad, had been absconding for weeks after multiple cheating cases were filed against them.
According to police, the couple allegedly ran high‑return investment schemes through firms linked to real‑estate and infra projects, collecting money from investors in Hyderabad and other places.
At first, they reportedly paid small returns to gain trust, but later stopped payments and disappeared, leaving victims — including the son of a former Union minister — claiming losses of about ₹23 crore.
Hyderabad’s Central Crime Station had registered cases against Satish and Shilpa under cheating and financial offences, and also linked them to shell companies used to move investors’ money.
They were also under the scanner in other enforcement cases, including probes by agencies like the CBI, ED and GST authorities for larger financial irregularities.
Dharwad Superintendent of Police Gunjan Arya said her team swung into action after receiving a specific alert from Hyderabad police that the couple’s car was likely to pass through the Hubballi–Dharwad bypass.
Police set up a special check‑post on the highway, deployed patrol vehicles and intercepted the suspects’ vehicle before they could leave the district.
Officers at the spot verified their identities, detained them and informed the Hyderabad Central Crime Station, which later took custody of the couple to continue the investigation.
Local police have also confirmed that a separate cheating case against the same accused has been registered in Davanagere district, showing how far their alleged fraud network had spread.
Investigators in Hyderabad say the couple’s business model was to promise high, steady returns from their companies, collect large deposits from doctors, businesspeople and other investors, and then route the funds through multiple firms.
After payments stopped in early 2023 and investors began demanding their money back, Satish allegedly issued threats instead of refunds, and later managed to escape from police custody in a separate case, triggering a multi‑state hunt.
With the arrest on the Hubballi–Dharwad bypass, police believe they have taken an important step in rebuilding investor confidence and showing that financial offenders cannot stay hidden for long.
However, the focus now shifts to recovering the siphoned funds and tracing the full network of companies and associates involved in the ₹23 crore fraud.