Tripura Chit Fund Scam: After 14 Years on the Run, Tapan Pramanik Arrested by CBI

Moneylife Digital Team 19 January 2026

Economy & Nation

Central bureau of investigation (CBI) has arrested Tapan Pramanik, a proclaimed offender in a long-pending chit fund fraud case in Tripura, ending a manhunt that stretched over more than a decade.

Mr Pramanik, a director of MPS Agro-Animal Projects Ltd, was arrested on 18 January 2026 in Nadia district in West Bengal, CBI says in a statement. He had been absconding since 2012 and was declared a proclaimed offender by the special judge’s court in Gomati district, Udaipur, on 16 January 2023.

The case was registered by CBI on 8 October 2013, following notifications from the Tripura government and the government of India, amid a wider crackdown on chit fund operations in the state. According to investigators, Mr Pramanik and other accused allegedly mobilised ₹3 crore to ₹4 crore from the public through a network of agents, promising high returns on investments.

The funds were purportedly collected under the guise of legitimate investment schemes but were later misappropriated, causing financial losses to small and retail investors, many of whom had invested their savings.

After completing its investigation, CBI filed its charge-sheet on 13 October 2015, followed by a supplementary charge-sheet on 31 May 2019, naming Mr Pramanik and others. However, Mr Pramanik failed to join the investigation, prompting the agency to file charge sheets against him as an absconder.

Despite the issuance of arrest warrants, Mr Pramanik remained untraceable for years. The trial court subsequently declared him a proclaimed offender after repeated failures to secure his presence.

The breakthrough came after CBI carried out field verification, physical surveillance and detailed call detail record (CDR) analysis, which helped trace Mr Pramanik’s movements and establish his location in West Bengal.

He will be produced before the jurisdictional court in Nadia district to obtain a transit warrant, following which he will be brought before the special CBI court in Agartala, Tripura, for further proceedings.

The arrest marks a significant development in the Tripura chit fund investigations, which have seen multiple cases of alleged financial fraud involving unregulated deposit schemes and the diversion of public funds.

Further proceedings in the case are expected to resume after Mr Pramanik is produced before the trial court.

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