Absconding hemp association chief held for duping firm of Rs 2.16 crore: EOW

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) here has arrested Rohit Sharma, the president of the Indian Institute of Hemp Association (IIHA), who was absconding for nearly four years after allegedly cheating a private firm of more than Rs 2.16 crore in the name of investment in an industrial hemp project, an official said on Friday.

Sharma, 44, was apprehended at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on September 8 when he returned from abroad, according to a statement issued by the EOW.

"He was declared an absconder in October 2024 after evading investigation and a Look Out Circular was issued against him," Additional Commissioner of Police (EOW) Amrutha Guguloth said in the statement.

The case dates back to December 2021 when Karan Bhatia, director of Ice Dream Global Private Limited, complained that Sharma lured his company into investing in an industrial hemp project. Posing as an industry expert, Sharma promised raw material supply, consultancy and support in obtaining licences. Trusting his assurances, the company entered into agreements with the IIHA and transferred Rs 2.16 crore, besides spending another Rs 50 lakh on the project.

"However, the accused never delivered on his commitments. The financial trail revealed that the funds were diverted into Sharma's personal accounts and firms under his control. He neither supplied raw material (bhang) nor secured any statutory approvals," the statement read.

Investigators found that Sharma portrayed an overly-optimistic picture of the hemp sector, claiming that he was on the verge of securing cultivation licences from the Uttarakhand government. In reality, he had no such authorisation or cultivation base, police said, adding that this established his intent to cheat from the very beginning.

Sharma, a resident of Gurugram, studied commerce but dropped out of college in his second year. He worked at call centres and in advertising before floating the IIHA in 2015 as a trust purportedly promoting industrial hemp research and consultancy.

Police said Sharma fled to Canada with his wife and child soon after the case was registered, while his parents were in Gurugram. His father recently passed away. He is also facing another cheating case registered at Jaipur's Mahesh Nagar police station.

The accused was produced before a court and sent to police custody for two days, the statement read. PTI BM RC