Maharashtra: FIR against three for duping Thane cloth merchant of Rs 41 lakh

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The police in Maharashtra's Thane district have registered a case against three persons for allegedly cheating a Thane cloth merchant of nearly Rs 41 lakh on the pretext of helping him set up a petrol pump, an official said on Friday, reported news agency PTI.

The trio, identified as Varun Jaiswal, Manoj Sharma, and Amit, first got in touch with the 23-year-old complainant from Bhiwandi in December 2022 with a proposal for a petrol pump, reported PTI.

Since then, they allegedly made the complainant shell out a total of Rs 41.49 lakh on the pretext of security deposit, licensing fee and funds for machinery for the fuel station, the official said, reported PTI.

However, the accused did not initiate any process for obtaining the necessary permits despite follow-ups, the complainant told the police, reported PTI.

The Thane cloth merchant approached the police with a complaint against the accused on Wednesday after which a case was registered against them under Indian Penal Code section 420 (cheating) and 465 (forgery), said the station house officer of the Bhiwandi town police station, reported PTI.

In another incident, police have registered a case against four persons, including two women, for allegedly duping 30 people of more than Rs 52 lakh by luring them into investing in their car rental firm, and obtaining loan using the names of some others, an official said on Thursday, reported PTI.

The case was filed at the APMC police station in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, he said.

The accused, identified as Nisha Gosavi, Farooque, Bhagyashri and Ankush Pawar, were booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention), reported PTI.

Since June 2022, they targeted approximately 30 persons, promising them high returns on investment into their car rental venture. The victims collectively handed over Rs 52,43,000 with the expectation of acquiring cars for their business. However, the accused failed to deliver any vehicle, the complaint said, reported PTI.

The accused also managed to get documents for obtaining loans in the names of 12 other individuals apparently for the purchase of electric scooters. However, they misappropriated the loan amount, the official said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)