Thane: FIR against six for duping businessman, his relative of Rs 4 crore over investment with 'high' returns

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The police in Maharashtra's Thane have registered a case against six people for allegedly defrauding a businessman and his relative of nearly Rs 4 crore after persuading them to invest in a business with "high" returns, an official said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

The businessman from Dombivali and his relative were cheated between September 2021 and until recently, the official said, reported PTI.

The accused, who claimed to be associated with a company, got in touch with the victims and lured them to invest in their online business promising "high" returns, said the station house officer of Khadakpada police station, reported PTI.

The fraudsters also shared fake documents with the complainants to convince them that they were into some genuine business, he said, reported PTI.

Over nearly two years, they extracted Rs 3.95 crore from the businessman and his relative. The victims approached the police after the accused failed to pay them any money, the official said, reported PTI.

Based on their complaint, the police on Friday registered an FIR (first information report) under the Indian Penal Code and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act against Vaseem Razakhan, Arsla Hafiz, Nikita Sood, Himanshu Saraswat, Dipanshu Saraswat, and Sohel Raza Khan. No arrests have been made yet, the official added, reported PTI.

In another incident, the Mumbai police have registered a case against the brother of a bank's chairman for allegedly threatening to frame a former director of the same bank in a drugs case and sending offensive messages about his daughter, an official said on Saturday, reported PTI.

Accused Dinesh Jaya Suvarna (45) targeted complainant L V Amin after the latter recently contested against the former's brother Surya Jaya Suvarna for the post of chairman of Bharat Co-operative Bank, the official said, reported PTI.

Amin said he resigned as a director of the bank, a post he held for nearly 20 years, to fight the election. However, the panel led by Surya Jaya Suvarna won the election, following which he became the chairman of the bank, reported PTI.

Citing the FIR (first information report), the official from Vakola police station said that after the election, Dinesh allegedly started making unsolicited calls to Amin, reported PTI.

While Amin initially ignored them, he approached the police when Dinesh allegedly threatened to "fix" him in a drugs case, the official said. In his complaint, Amin alleged that Dinesh made some derogatory remarks against his daughter as well, reported PTI.

On Amin's complaint, the police registered the FIR against Dinesh under Indian Penal Code sections, including 502-II (criminal intimidation), reported PTI.

Further investigations are underway, the official added.

(With inputs from PTI)