The Metropolitan Crime Division on Thursday arrested a fugitive in Bhaktapur for allegedly defrauding at least 22 people of over Rs 70 million.

Chandan Jindal, 29, of Jhapa allegedly bought goods worth millions on credit from various traders from different districts and sold them at cheaper prices in Kathmandu for cash, police said.

“Jindal presented himself as Manish Agrawal and defrauded food traders by taking goods from them on credit and running away,” said Superintendent Ishwar Karki, spokesperson for Metropolitan Crime Division. “He then sold the merchandise to the traders of Kathmandu at cheaper prices to get cash.”

A special team arrested Jindal, on the run after defrauding people in Jhapa, Bara, Parsa, and Sarlahi, at around 6 pm on Thursday at Madhyapur Thimi Municipality-3 while hiding from police.

Police were on the lookout for Jindal after at least 22 victims filed complaints against him at various police stations. “Twenty-two victims have filed complaints against him so far. We expect to receive more complaints from others as well,” said Karki.

The department stated cases related to fraud and banking offences have already been registered against him at districts in Dhanusa, Parsa and Jhapa.

Cases of fraud have seen a steady rise in the country in the last few years with police receiving hundreds of complaints. According to Nepal Police, 368 cases of fraud were filed across the country in the 2016/17. The number rose to 542 in the following fiscal year, and to 627 in 2018/19.