Six including three govt officials booked in Thane for cheating tribal development body of Rs 16.6 crore

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Police has registered a case against six persons including three government officials in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly cheating the Tribal Development Corporation (TDC) of Rs 16.60 crore, PTI reported on Wednesday.

During the kharif season 2022-23, the accused allegedly misappropriated 52,840.88 quintal of grains and gunny bags, an official from Shahapur police station said.

The accused prepared bogus 'hundis' (promissory notes) for the procurement of grains from farmers and cheated the government and the corporation to the tune of Rs 16.60 crore, he said.

Following complaints, the department carried out an inspection of a paddy procurement centre of a cooperative society in Shahapur and found the irregularities and misappropriation of grains, the official said.

Based on a complaint by the TDC officials, an FIR has been registered against the six persons under Indian Penal Code sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 464, (making false document in name of a fictitious person), 468 (forgery) and 34 (common intention), the police said.

No arrest has been made so far, they said, adding a probe is on into the case.

Meanwhile, police has registered a case against unidentified persons for allegedly stealing valuables worth Rs 92,100 from a temple in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said.

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The incident took place on the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday when the thieves allegedly broke into the temple located in Kalyan area and stole gold, silver ornaments and other valuables, the official from Bazarpeth police station said.

Based on a complaint by the temple priest, a case was registered against unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code sections 380 (theft) and 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence), he said.

Efforts were on to nab the thieves, he added.

In another incident, a 48-year-old Nigerian man was arrested in Maharashtra's Navi Mumbai after the police recovered the banned drug MDMA worth Rs 5.5 lakh from him, an official said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the alleged drug trafficker, identified as John Okror, was intercepted in Kharghar on Tuesday.

A search revealed that he was carrying 55 grams of MDMA, also popular as ecstasy, worth Rs 5,50,000, said senior inspector Neeraj Chowdhary of the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Navi Mumbai police.

Later, the police also found that Okror had been staying in India without valid documents like a passport and a visa. (Agencies)