Mumbai Crime: Conned of Rs 10 lakh, woman chasing cops for 3 months for FIR

The woman had first approached Dindoshi police in November, 2022. Representation pic

A Goregaon resident has been struggling for the past three months to get a First Information Report (FIR) registered at Dindoshi police station in relation to a cheating case worth Rs 10.8 lakh. The woman recorded her statement in November 2022 and met the senior police inspector two weeks ago, but hasn't seen any progress. This comes in the backdrop of a recent circular by the commissioner of police directing police stations to take action on complaints within 45 days and update complainants on it.

What is the case about?

The woman met a man in 2015 on social media and they developed a friendship. The man claimed to be working for Tata Trusts as a market capitalist and having a close association with its chairman, Ratan Tata. The man enticed her with a job offer where she would be interviewed by Tata. He crafted a mentorship system wherein through situations and assignments meant to prepare her, the woman coughed up Rs 2.03 lakh in 2019 and R1.78 lakh in 2020. He claimed he would return the whole amount or invest the money in the stock market, based on her choice.

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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021, the man claimed that his father has a heart ailment and needs a transplant. He asked the woman to borrow from friends and non-banking financial companies (NBFC). By this time, the complainant had complete faith in the man and she arranged R13.31 lakh for him till October 2021.

The man returned R6.32 lakh to the woman over a period of one and a half years. However, when two of his cheques worth R7.5 lakh bounced successively, the woman confronted him, to which the man gave financial and medical reasons. Later, he blamed it on technical issues and made the woman write to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and top bank officials. This was followed by threats and warnings against going to the police. Stunned, the complainant took legal advice and approached the police.

Chasing the police

The complainant first submitted a written complaint to Dindoshi police on November 11, 2022. On December 4, Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) Satish Bhalerao recorded her statement. She also submitted her chats, bank statements and other necessary details. PSI Bhalerao then called the man to record his statement. He came with a lawyer but the complainant was not told if his statement was recorded.

Between January 3 and 17, the case was transferred from PSI Bhalerao to PSI Raut as the former was transferred. However, Raut too got transferred. "When there was no progress, I wrote to the police station about it on January 27. Subsequently, on January 31, I was told that Inspector Mali will handle the case but he said that he has not received the documents," the woman said. The woman met Dindoshi's Senior Inspector Jeevan Kharat on February 7 and was assured that things will start to move. Yet, there has been no FIR.

"Last Saturday (February 18), I was called by PSI Mali to meet. But when I went, he said he still hasn't seen the papers and that he will call me again. I don't know what is going on. Is this what everyone goes through?" the complainant said. "I am paying heavy instalments for the money I borrowed and here the police are not paying any heed to my issue," she added.

FIR must in cognisable crime

"Five judges of the Supreme Court have held that the registration of FIR is mandatory if a cognisable offence is disclosed. No preliminary inquiry is permissible in such situations. Otherwise, action must be taken against the erring officers," said Siddharth Chandrashekhar, the complainant's lawyer. "Where the information does not reveal a cognisable offence, the police must conduct a preliminary enquiry to ascertain whether it is present. In commercial offences, there may be an initial inquiry and the complainant should be informed about that. In this case, nothing is happening. The Dindoshi police are just passing the buck and wasting time."

‘Will look into it'
"The transfers may have delayed the registration of the FIR. The officer who had taken statements got transferred and the case was handed over to some other officer. But I will personally check what has caused the delay," senior inspector Kharat told mid-day.

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No of officers who have handled complaint so far