Citibank fraud: Police hunt for Shiv Raj Puri & parents

NEW DELHI/GURGAON: Immigration officials at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport are on alert to nab Gurgaon bank scam mastermind Shiv Raj Puri who might try to take a flight out of the country, sources close to the investigation said.

Puri has allegedly swindled Rs 400 crores from Citibank. He and his family who live at Hamilton Court have been missing for the past couple of days.

On Tuesday night, immigration authorities received a request from the Gurgaon Police to look out for Puri. “A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been activated. Centralised records are being trawled. The minute he is tracked, the immigration authorities will detain him,” a senior immigration official posted at the airport said.

Information available with investigators and at IGI Airport shows that the accused has not yet made an attempt to leave the country. But they don’t entirely rule out such a possibility. The bank took long to lodge an FIR against Puri and three of his relatives. This explains why they are keeping a close watch at the airport . Gurgaon Police commissioner S S Deswal confirmed the airport vigil and said: “Yes, a look out notice has been issued. As a precaution , airports have been alerted .”

The Gurgaon Police have formed five teams to investigate the fraud. “We are trying to track down the accused and his family. We are checking if they had any role in this case. We are questioning senior officials and those closely associated with Puri,” a senior police officer said. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the bank stepped up security to regulate the entry of people at the DLF-II bank branch.