Neeraj Bhatnagar. Picture by Sanjay Choudhary

Patna, April 3: A postgraduate from a premier institution, his uncles are senior government officers. His father is a retired chief engineer of the Uttar Pradesh government. But he is a master of swindling people.

Meet Neeraj Bhatnagar, the 30-something kingpin of a hawala racket thriving in different parts of the country, including Bihar. Said to be the mastermind behind the racket involved in duping people through scrupulous means across the country, Neeraj’s one uncle is a senior IAS officer. Another is an IPS officer. Both are posted in Delhi.

Neeraj, a resident of Dhampur in UP, was arrested last week in connection with duping Rohtas resident Ram Singhasan Sharma of over Rs 10 lakh in January this year. “Neeraj has his links with some hawala racketeers operating from Pakistan, Dubai and Singapore,” said Rohtas superintendent of police (SP) Manu Maharaj.

Maharaj said Neeraj, with his two associates Pankaj Bhatnagar, a resident of Bijnor (UP), and Sushil Kumar, a native of Gopalganj in Bihar, were arrested on April 1 after their names figured in a forgery case lodged with Chenari police station of the district. “The members of the group hail from affluent families and have spread their network across the country, including Bihar,” he told The Telegraph.

Neeraj studied BCom at RSM Degree College at Bijnor. He did his postgraduation (MCom) from Allahabad University.

Police sources said Pankaj’s father Tej Bahadur Bhatnagar is a veterinary doctor. His two brothers — Sanjay Bhatnagar and Ajay Bhatnagar are also successful professionals. Sanjay is a doctor and Ajay is an architect in Bijnor.

Sunil is pursuing BBA from a reputed institute.

According to police sources, Sharma, a resident of Neuri village under Chenari police station in Rohtas district, received a phone call from Pakistan on January 13, 2012. The caller congratulated Sharma, a retired teacher, for being selected as the winner of lottery worth Rs 21 lakh. The caller, who introduced himself as the owner of the company, asked him to contact Neeraj to stake his claim for the money.

Neeraj asked Sharma to deposit Rs 25,000 each in 21 different bank accounts to get the money awarded in lottery credited to his bank account. “Sharma deposited over Rs 10 lakh in the bank accounts between January 13 and January 28, 2012,” investigating officer Ramesh Prasad Singh quoted Neeraj as saying.

Neeraj had employed several local youths as agents to open accounts in different banks. “The youths were paid between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 for every transaction of Rs 25,000 as their commission,” Singh said, adding that the gang was active for the past three-four years.

Investigations revealed that the money deposited in the bank accounts of Neeraj’s associates was used in buying recharge vouchers of a satellite TV service provider and cellphone service providers.

“The voucher numbers were provided to the Pakistan-based members of the group, who were illegally providing satellite TV connections to the residents of that country,” the Rohtas SP said.