08 May,2024 06:17 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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A 48-year-old Thane district coaching class owner fell prey to a share trading fraud and lost more than Rs 1.88 crore after joining a WhatsApp group, police said on Wednesday.
According to the Thane coaching class owner's complaint, an unnamed person added him to the WhatsApp group 'STOCK Vanguard (F)' in March. This 170-member organisation offered share trading guidance.
Impressed by the advice, the Thane coaching class owner bought in the recommended stocks and was later added to another group called 'STOCK-Vanguard-VIP'. Three people in this group, Isha, Divya, and Raj Rupani, presented him with a forged 'SEBI certificate' in order to gain his trust.
They promised that investing through the CINVEN/IC SERVICES app will result in big gains. The victim invested more than Rs 1.88 crore after believing their guarantees. However, when he asked for his money back, he received no response.
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The victim reported the occurrence to the Vitthalwadi police station, which resulted in a complaint being filed under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. Despite the complaint, no arrests have been made so far.
In another case, according to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, two revenue officers and one other person are accused of requesting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from two building material suppliers in the Gondia district of Maharashtra.
Two tippers filled with sand that belonged to the suppliers were seized by revenue officials on May 4 and taken to the Goregaon tehsil office. Both vendors were then had to pay a fine of Rs 1,23,883 apiece, reported PTI.
According to the report, an ACB official disclosed that while the revenue officers were preparing the indemnification bond, they mistakenly recorded the tippers as tractors carrying one brass sand each, even though each tipper was actually carrying two brass sands.
In anticipation of their cars being returned, the suppliers paid the fines on May 6 and turned in the receipts at the tehsil office. But a friend told them that in order to get their cars back and carry on transporting sand, they would each have to bribe a revenue inspector Rs 50,000. On his behalf, the officer asked that the money be given to a computer operator.
The suppliers then brought a complaint before the ACB. The Goregaon police filed a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the two revenue officers and the computer operator after investigating the allegation.
The ACB also mentioned that one of the accused revenue officers was reportedly involved in a 2017 bribery case in which he took a bribe of Rs 10 lakh, the report added.
