Kanpur police arrests Mahfooz Alam in Rs 1600 crore fraud case; accused hid in Kolkata under TMC shelter, details
Mahfooz was allegedly hiding at his in-laws’ residence in Kolkata. It is believed that his in-laws have close connections with TMC leaders, under whose protection he managed to evade initial arrest.
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On May 7th, the Kanpur Police arrested Mahfooz Alam alias Pappu Chhuri, the alleged kingpin of a Rs 1,600 crore hawala racket. As per the reports, the accused created fake bank accounts under the pretext of arranging loans and used them to illegally transfer money. For this, Mahfooz allegedly used documents of poor street vendors and rickshaw pullers, and through these accounts, crores of rupees were illegally transferred with the alleged involvement of bank employees. (Kanpur hawala case)
The massive hawala network came to light during the investigation of a Rs 24 lakh robbery that took place in Kanpur on February 16 this year. Mahfooz had reportedly been hiding for a long time at his in-laws’ house in Kolkata under alleged political protection. However, fearing a change in the political environment in West Bengal, he returned to Kanpur, where police had already laid a trap for his arrest.
Local reports mention that Mahfooz’s syndicate operated in a highly organized manner. He would lure unsuspecting poor people, collect their documents, and then open bank accounts in their names to run illegal hawala transactions. (Kanpur hawala case)
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh: Police arrested alleged mastermind Mahfooz Alam in a ₹1600 crore scam. He is accused of running fake firms and multiple bank accounts involving transactions over ₹3200 crore. The case also involves GST fraud, hawala links, and suspected terror funding,… pic.twitter.com/AFWX2VqJDW
— IANS (@ians_india) May 7, 2026
According to police records, transactions worth nearly Rs 1,600 crore have surfaced so far. Police have already arrested several accused in connection with the case, but the mastermind, Mahfooz, had remained absconding until now. It is important to note that the accused is a history sheeter and 5 serious cases are reportedly registered against him in Kanpur.
Kolkata's Safe House’ and political links
Mahfooz was allegedly hiding at his in-laws’ residence in Kolkata. It is believed that his in-laws have close connections with TMC leaders, under whose protection he managed to evade initial arrest. However, after the political situation in West Bengal changed, Mahfooz reportedly feared he would no longer be safe there and quickly fled back to Kanpur, where he was finally caught by police. (Kanpur hawala case)
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh: On Police busting a Fake Firm Racket, Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal says, "... Our team conducted an investigation. Five people were caught who were involved in loot, 11 lakh rupees were recovered. The culprits were hiding the money because they were… pic.twitter.com/WOJhMjJueY
— IANS (@ians_india) May 7, 2026
ACP Abhishek Pandey said police are interrogating Mahfooz to trace all the locations where he stayed while absconding. Police sources maintain that he had indeed been hiding in Kolkata. Kanpur Police had also coordinated with Kolkata Police to track his location. Meanwhile, police are actively searching for Mahfooz’s wife, son, and brother-in-law. The role of bank employees allegedly involved in facilitating the scam is also under detailed investigation.