Mumbai: Diamond merchant cheated of Rs 5.37 crore in property deal; three booked

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The Mumbai police have registered a case against three people, including the owner of a construction company, for allegedly cheating a diamond merchant of Rs 5.37 crore in a property deal, an official told the PTI on Tuesday.

The diamond merchant had on Monday lodged a complaint with the Dadar police in central Mumbai, following which an offence was registered by the police, an official said.

A case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code was registered, he said, according to the PTI.

According to the complainant, a fellow diamond merchant and his son, who also own a construction firm, had approached him in 2016 saying that they were building a housing and commercial project at Vakola in the western suburbs and they required funds of Rs 3 crore, the official said, as per the PTI.

Against the sum, the accused promised to give the complainant floor space index (FSI) of 11,000 sq ft at Rs 5,000 per sq ft in the Vakola project and said they would draft an agreement for the same, he said.

The complainant initially gave the suspects Rs 2 crore and after a few days, paid an additional amount of Rs 12.5 lakh, the official said.

In February 2017, the accused persons again demanded money from the complainant, who transferred the same in installments, he said.

The complainant shelled out Rs 5.37 crore over a period of one and half years in the property deal, but did not get what he was promised or get his money back, the official said, adding that no arrests have been made in this connection as yet.

Meanwhile, in an another case in Thane, the police arrested three persons for allegedly cheating a businessman from Sawantwadi in Maharashtra of Rs 12 lakh by promising to get his money doubled quickly, an official told the PTI on Tuesday.

Four persons allegedly called the victim from Sawantwadi in Ratnagir district to Bhiwandi in Thane on May 29 with Rs 12 lakh in cash, senior police inspector Sachin Gaikwad said.

When the victim came on a bypass road in Bhiwandi, one of the accused took Rs 12 lakh from him, while another accused walked along side claiming he had double the amount.

Later, a van arrived at the spot and the man with the victim's Rs 12 lakh got in and fled, the police said, according to the PTI.

Following the victim's complaint, the Thane police launched a probe and arrested three of the accused.

The police have so far recovered Rs 4 lakh cash out of the Rs 12 lakh taken away from the victim, he said.

The three accused were booked under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and efforts were on to nab the fourth accused, the official said.

(with PTI inputs)