Robin Uthappa and his family now live in Dubai. File
| Photo Credit: V.V. Subrahmanyam
An arrest warrant has been issued against former India cricketer Robin Uthappa in an alleged Provident Fund (PF) cheating case.
The warrant was issued by PF Regional Commissioner Shadakshari Gopal Reddy, who has asked the jurisdictional Pulakeshinagar police to take necessary action. “The warrant which was executed on December 4 has been returned after Mr. Uthappa was found not to be at the Pulakeshinagar residence,” officials said. However, it is well known that the cricketer and his family now live in Dubai.
Mr. Uthappa, who is associated with Centuries Lifestyle Brand Private Limited, is accused of deducting PF contributions from employee salaries but allegedly failing to deposit the funds into their respective accounts.
“In this connection it is kindly requested to arrest the employer under Rule 73 of IInd Schedule to Income Tax Act 1961 and Income Tax (CP) Rule 1962 and Section 8B of Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, and produce him before the undersigned on or before 27.12.2024 for further proceedings through your official.”
The order stated, “In exercise of the power conferred on me under section 8B of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952,…command you to arrest the said defaulter and bring him before the undersigned as soon as practicable and in any event within 24 hours of his arrest [exclusive of the time required for the journey] unless the defaulter pays the said amount of ₹23,36,602 and ₹5,000 for the cost of executing this process.”
However, a senior police officer said, “The address mentioned in the arrest warrant issued by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner is an old one and the concerned person does not stay at this address anymore. Our team had gone to the given address and verified. As per information, he vacated the mentioned address over a year ago. We have informed the same to the concerned officer. Further decision will be taken by the concerned authority which issued the arrest warrant.”
(with inputs from PTI)
Published – December 21, 2024 11:48 am IST