Jagdish Punetha is an Indian national accused of extorting people in a crores-worth of fraud scheme through fake investments. Police have since announced that the man has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates.

The accused fraudster, who fled overseas, was successfully brought back to India on November 13, thanks to the work of Uttarakhand Police’s Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) branch. He faces charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Disputes (UPID) Act, 1947, and the Gangster Act.

Who is Jagdish Punetha?

Before his UAE escape, Punetha is said to have been a resident of Silpata in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. The wanted fugitive had a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head, according to the PTI. Four cases were registered against him in his home district for allegedly duping people of crores of rupees.

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Among other criminal cases, most significant allegations raised against him include forming an organised gang to facilitate illegal financial gains through fake investment schemes.

“Investigation revealed that Jagdish Punetha and his associates defrauded investors of ₹15.17 crore and amassed movable and immovable assets worth ₹2.22 crore through illegal means,” state police officials said.

At the centre of criminal conspiracy allegations, Punetha remained on the run while some of his associates were previously apprehended. The case dates back to 2021, when a complaint by Leeladhar Patni, a resident of Pithoragarh, led to the registration of FIR No 239/2021. As per the official record, Jagdish was initially accused of defrauding the complainant of Rs 8 lakh through an investment scam.

Other registered cases against Punetha are FIR 36/2021, and FIR 11/2023 (Gangster Act), according to local reports.

Indian and UAE authorities worked jointly to arrest Jagdish Punetha

The CBI and authorities in UAE worked jointly to identify him and subsequently take him into custody in Dubai, according to an official statement shared by the Department of Information and Public Relations Uttarakhand Government.

The CBI initiated an official action again Punetha after receiving the Red Notice published against him thorough Interpol on May 6, 2025 at the behest of the Uttarakhand Police.

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A team of the state police department–Manoj Kumar Thakur (Additional Superintendent of Police, CBCID), Lalit Mohan Joshi (Station In-Charge Inspector, Pithoragarh), and Satish Kumar Sharma (Inspector, ANTF)– were reportedly sent to Dubai on November 10, 2025. They subsequently arrived in new Delhi, with Punetha in custody, on November 13, 2025.

“Red Notices published by INTERPOL are circulated to all Law Enforcement Agencies globally for tracking of the wanted fugitives,” stated the official November 14 press release by the Centra Bureau of Investigation. “CBI as the National Central Bureau for INTERPOL in India, coordinates with all Law Enforcement Agencies in India through BHARATPOL for assistance via INTERPOL channels.”