Industrialist Pawan Ruia arrested by police in multi-crore rupee fraud case
The Statesman | 1 April 2026
Industrialist Pawan Ruia was arrested by the Cyber Crime Branch of Kolkata Police on Tuesday from Eco Park in connection with an alleged multi-crore rupee fraud case, officials said.
Ruia, owner of Jessop & Company, had earlier been linked to a cyber fraud case involving an estimated Rs 315 crore, in which members of his family were also named as accused. Following the registration of an FIR, he had moved the Calcutta High Court seeking anticipatory bail, which was granted with conditions.
The state had opposed his bail plea, questioning his credentials as an industrialist and alleging that he had acquired defunct units such as Dunlop and Jessop only to sell off machinery. It further argued that government intervention had become necessary to safeguard industrial assets.
Counsel for Ruia, however, maintained that his family had been residing in West Bengal for generations and that all their business operations were lawful. The court eventually allowed conditional bail for him and his family members on December 31, 2025.
However, on Tuesday morning, the Calcutta High Court removed the protection granted to Ruia and his family members in the case.
This is not the first time Ruia has faced legal action. In 2016, he was arrested by the CID on charges of theft of machinery from multiple Jessop factories. He was apprehended from Delhi following a complaint linked to equipment supplied by Indian Railways. Railway authorities had earlier written to the state’s Chief Secretary, seeking clarification on materials worth Rs 50 crore supplied to Jessop and whether those had gone missing.
Subsequent inspections of the company’s closed unit in Dum Dum, conducted jointly by railway officials and state investigators, led to the registration of a case by the CID. Police said further investigation is underway.