Bizman Pawan Ruia held for theft

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, December 10 

West Bengal CID today arrested prominent industrialist and Ruia Group chairman Pawan Ruia in a multi-crore rupees theft case.

Ruia was arrested from his New Delhi residence in connection with a complaint of theft lodged by the Railways. The chartered accountant-turned-entrepreneur was arrested from his residence in the Sundar Nagar area of the national capital this morning.

Ruia has been booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant or a merchant or a banker). He is being brought to Kolkata where he will be produced before the court.

The complaint against Ruia pertained to theft of railway goods worth Rs 50 crore which went missing from the Ruia group-owned Jessop factory premises in Dum Dum in the city. The goods were originally manufactured by BHEL and supplied to Jessop for using these in railway coaches being built at the factory. Railways had filed the FIR with the Dum Dum police station after an inspection team found several equipment and fittings of under-construction coaches were missing from the factory premises at Dum Dum.

The CID had earlier summoned Ruia four times in the past in connection with another case. The case pertained to its probe into an incident of fire that had broken out in the Jessop factory on October 17.

Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, who also is the WB Fire Minister, suspected foul play in the fire incident inside the closed Jessop factory and recommended a probe. Subsequently, the government and the fire department charged Ruia under Sections 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). 

Ruia moved the Calcutta HC which refused to stay proceedings against him in connection with the case filed by the CID following the fire.