Hyderabad: Nowhera Shaik, the fugitive founder of the Heera Group, has been arrested in Gurugram by the Enforcement Directorate following an intensive weeks-long manhunt. The arrest, executed in a joint operation with the Haryana Police on Thursday evening, coordinates with an ongoing investigation into an alleged ₹3,000 crore investment fraud that reportedly affected around 172,000 investors worldwide.
The operation took place the same day the Telangana High Court rejected Shaik’s petition to overturn a non-bailable warrant, ordering her immediate surrender. Authorities reveal that Shaik had been actively evading law enforcement by using forged documentation and false identities before being tracked down and subsequently transferred back to Hyderabad.
The Enforcement Directorate launched its investigation based on multiple initial police reports filed across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Investigators allege that Shaik and her associates enticed victims by guaranteeing annual returns of nearly 36 per cent, dividends that ultimately failed to materialise. A significant portion of the defrauded investor base includes expatriates and citizens residing in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and various Gulf states.
The agency contends that the Heera Group maintained no genuine business operations to support these financial promises, and instead systematically diverted investor capital into personal bank accounts to acquire extensive movable and immovable luxury assets. To facilitate these transactions, Shaik reportedly established 24 shell companies and managed 182 distinct bank accounts across India, alongside several foreign accounts currently under scrutiny.
The case reached a critical flashpoint after Shaik allegedly obstructed court-ordered asset auctions. The Supreme Court of India had previously directed the auctioning of multiple properties seized by the Enforcement Directorate as proceeds of crime, but when Shaik failed to cooperate, the apex court cancelled her bail and mandated her surrender within seven days. Her failure to comply prompted a Special PMLA Court in Hyderabad to issue a non-bailable warrant on 7 May, after which she went into hiding.
In a final attempt to avoid detention, Shaik’s legal team petitioned the Telangana High Court, where her counsel argued that the lower court had ignored her willingness to surrender and shifted the blame for the delayed property auctions onto the authorities. However, Justice E.V. Venugopal declined to grant interim relief, directing the federal agency and the state government to file formal responses to her writ petition. The matter has been adjourned until after the upcoming court vacation, and Shaik remains in custody as further judicial proceedings and interrogations continue.