A Ghaziabad-based trader was arrested in Delhi on Monday night for allegedly cheating several Calcuttans of crores of rupees.

Dipak Kumar alias Dipak Rajput, 45, lured people into investing in the chain of diagnostic centres he owns by promising them high returns, before disappearing, said police.

“Rajput had opened a diagnostic centre called Sky Healer India Pvt Ltd at 32 Chowringhee Road. Through the centre’s website, he invited people to become shareholders of the company and earn lucrative dividends,” said Damayanti Sen, the joint commissioner (crime) of the city police.

The Chowringhee centre and other centres owned by the company in North 24-Parganas all had employees and were functional.The centres put up the shutters in the middle of 2010 and Rajput disappeared, leaving investors in the lurch.

The city cops started their probe after Prosenjit Talukdar, an Ariadaha-based trader who had invested over Rs 9 lakh in the chain, lodged a complaint. He had received monthly payments from the chain for three months before the centres shut down.

Acting on a tip-off, officers picked up Rajput from NH 24 in Delhi. He was produced in a Ghaziabad court on Tuesday.