New Delhi, Jul 4 (IANS): The Delhi police Economic Offences Wing has arrested a former Indian Engineering Service (IES) officer for duping a Vaidyacharya (Ayurvedic practitioner) of Rs 5 crore after luring him to buy a TV channel. The accused Sunil kumar Jha earlier worked as Deputy Director in Doordarshan in Jodhpur and had been convicted in a criminal case filed by Doordarshan with regard to cheating and misappropriation of goods from the stores of Doordarshan.

According to police, the complainant Pandit Laxman Das Bhardwaj is a Vaidycharya by profession. For the promotion of his Ayurveda items and also for spiritual purposes, he came in contact with accused Sunil Kumar Jha, who introduced himself as the channel head of a devotional TV channel. The complainant started telecasting his programmes through the said channel.

Sunil Kumar Jha also introduced his wife Bindu Jha as an expert having technical knowledge to run a TV Channel. Jha also apprised the Vaidyacharya that he had earlier worked in Doordarshan and they are also the directors of another company M/s Viceroy Engineers Pvt Ltd.

The complainant alleged that after developing good relations and trust with him, the couple made a proposal and induced him to establish his own TV channel by purchasing major shareholding in a company M/s Express Broadcasting Pvt Ltd. They said they will create the required infrastructure for the TV channel.

"On this, the complainant had given an amount of around Rs 5 crore for the purchase of the TV channel. Later, the complainant came to know that accused Sunil Kumar Jha purchased the TV channel Sanskriti in the name of his wife Bindu Jha and Vineet Vashisht through shareholding of M/s Express Broadcasting Pvt Ltd and cheated the complainant Vaidyacharya," said O.P. Mishra, Joint CP, Economic Offences Wing.

The accused Sunil Kumar Jha was arrested on July 3, 2020.