Patna SSP Amrit Raj with Rudradev in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Rudradev, the kingpin of the Rs 150 crore Muskaan NGO scandal, was arrested on Wednesday morning from Patna Junction station.

A special team of Patna police zeroed in on Rudradev around 11.30am. A fake election identity card, a bogus driving licence issued in the name of Ranjan Kumar, two cellphones and Rs 6,700 were recovered from him.

Rudradev was dodging the police for three years. He was hiding in New Delhi, the police said. Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Amrit Raj said Rudradev was in the city for the past few days and was planning to dupe people offering them lucrative jobs in the Indian Railways.

The SSP said: “Rudradev is a big catch for the police. He will be taken into police remand. The police will also initiate the process of confiscation of his property. Total 16 people were involved in the Muskaan scandal. Of them, 10 have been arrested so far. Six are absconding. With the arrest of the kingpin today (Wednesday), the police hope to arrest the others based on his statements,” the SSP said.

Two brothers of Rudradev — Gyan Prakash and Lallan — were arrested last year.

Rudradev had published advertisements in local media in 2006 promising white revolution in the state. He offered cows to investors and jobs to youths. He held massive public functions at Millar School in 2009 and SK Memorial Hall in 2010. Some ministers and legislators attended them. Animal and fish resources minister Giriraj Singh even drew flak from the Opposition last year for attending a public function organised by Rudradev on June 7, 2010.

The arrested scam kingpin floated the NGO — Muskan — the same year and took money from around 4,000 youths claiming that he was running Kisan Haat, Kisan Gaushala, Sramodaya Vidyalaya and a dairy under the Muskan scheme. He offered them jobs as district co-ordinators, programme co-ordinators and kisan sevaks. He also distributed cows at a subsidised rate of Rs 11,000.

Few years on, people started complaining that they were not getting returns. The labour superintendent in Patna then filed a case against Rudradev and three others on March 23, 2010. Investigations revealed that the NGO (Muskaan), registered in New Delhi in 2007, was raising money from the people on the pretext of giving them jobs. The chargesheet was submitted on September 30, 2010 but they obtained bail in October.

Rudradev filed a case in the local court in Patna in December 2010 charging one Bijender Tiwari and 11 others with trying to kidnap him. The FIR in this connection was lodged at the Patliputra police station. But investigations revealed it was just a ploy to save himself from people demanding their money back. By the time the police could act, Rudradev vanished.