Mumbai: Man arrested in Thane for cheating woman of Rs 2.30 lakh

Representative image. Pic/Istock

A 42-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly duping a woman to the tune of Rs 2.30 lakh after they became friends on a popular social media platform, a police official said on Wednesday.

According to the official of the Bhoiwada police station, the accused, identified as Sagar Raut and arrested recently from adjoining Thane city, is suspected to have cheated multiple people to the tune of crores of rupees.

The accused sent a friend request to the woman (38), who works in a private firm, on Facebook which she accepted. They became friends and exchanged phone numbers, he said.

After some days, Raut sent a calendar featuring the photo of a popular spiritual master to her residence to show both follow the same guru, the official said.

The conman managed to gain the woman's confidence and asked her to invest money in a financial scheme suggested by him, he said.

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Without knowing his real intentions, she paid him Rs 2.30 lakh. The accused assured her that he will pay her Rs 20,000 per month as return on investment, the official said.

However, Raut reneged on his promise and also stopped taking phone calls of the woman, prompting her to approach the police and lodge a complaint, he said.

The police devised a plan to get to the accused and asked the complainant to again call Raut and tell him she wanted to invest more money in the scheme, the official said.

Senior Police Inspector Jitendra Pawar said, ''Accused Raut asked her to reach Thane and he was nabbed on arriving at the designated spot to meet the woman.

During the probe, the police found he had duped many people of crores of rupees in the Vasai-Virar locality."

He was charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 420 (cheating), and further investigation was underway, he added.

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