Sadar police have booked a Basant Avenue resident for allegedly defrauding a city-based merchant navy officer of ₹ 1.60 crore after promising him a machine that could generate electricity without oil or water.
Ramandeep allegedly demonstrated the purported technology and subsequently persuaded Grewal to invest in the project.
The complainant, Jasmin Singh Grewal, told police that Ramandeep Singh, a resident of Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Basant Avenue, approached him around two years ago, claiming to be developing a kinetic motion machine capable of generating electricity without oil or water.
Grewal alleged that the incorporation of the company was part of the accused’s broader scheme to secure further investments from him. After Grewal’s phone number was shared following the podcast, he allegedly began receiving calls from people from across the country who claimed they too had invested money in the same project and had not received the promised machines. The machines were allegedly never supplied, the complaint stated. He also alleged that people from Uttar Pradesh, Pune and Haryana contacted him with similar complaints against the accused. Grewal claimed that valuable material and cash were also missing from the company premises, although the accused allegedly continued assuring him that the machine would soon become operational.
Grewal initially paid ₹ 7 lakh and made several payments towards components and technical work, eventually taking his investment to ₹ 1.60 crore, according to the complaint. Company floated, investments continue The complainant later entered into an agreement with Ramandeep, and Radius-7 Innovation Pvt Ltd was incorporated in May 2025, with both becoming directors. The allegations took a wider turn after Ramandeep asked Grewal to participate in a podcast recorded in August 2025. Grewal also told police that some of his merchant navy colleagues had invested around ₹ 31 lakh after being assured that the machines would be manufactured and sent to Singapore. Other investors raise similar allegations against accused During his subsequent inquiries, Grewal claimed he learnt that an FIR had been registered against Ramandeep in Kurukshetra in 2017. The complainant further alleged that after he returned from Canada on June 30 following a wedding, Ramandeep disappeared. Grewal subsequently served Ramandeep a legal notice dated July 8 and alleged that he was also threatened. Police have also received complaints from two other Ludhiana residents, who allegedly claimed to have been cheated of ₹ 11 lakh and ₹ 14 lakh respectively in connection with the project. Cops say probe on, accused booked for fraud Following an inquiry into Grewal’s complaint, Sadar police registered an FIR against Ramandeep under Sections 316 (2) (criminal breach of trust), 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property), 336 (2) (forgery, including both physical documents and digital or electronic records), 338 (forgery of valuable security, wills), 336 (3) (forgery, intending that the document or electronic record forged shall be used for the purpose of cheating) and 340 (2) (fraudulently or dishonestly using a forged paper or digital file as real, knowing it is fake) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Despite repeated assurances that the machine would soon become operational, the project allegedly failed to materialise, the merchant navy officer told police. Ramandeep allegedly told him that he had cheated Grewal and intended to target someone else, before returning some of the money, according to the complaint. Assistant sub-inspector Saraj Kumar said the FIR was registered after an inquiry and a probe is on to nab the accused. “Further investigation will establish facts of the case,” the ASI added.
