Bizman dupes investors, abandons pregnant wife

The 26-year-old owner of an animation and a graphic design firm allegedly duped several people to the tune of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of giving them hefty returns on their investment in his projects. Rudransh Ghorpade not only conned people, but also deserted his wife who was nine-months pregnant at that time, and is now the mother of a newborn boy.

On the run: Locked office of the NSR Group Solution on Moledina Road owned by Rudransh Ghorpade, who currently is at large. Pic/Krunal Gosavi

The forgery came to light after Dilip Borade, who was working as a driver for Ghorpade's firm, lodged a complaint with the officials of the Government Railway Police at Pune railway station. In his compliant Borade accused Ghorpade of duping him of Rs 3 lakh.

Rudransh Ghorpade

Police officials said Ghorpade, who operated a firm called NSR Group Solution, had rented a spacious office on Moledina Road and employed 10 people for different positions. They said the accused lured victims by promising them hefty return if they invested in his ongoing projects in Chennai. Soon after Borade lodged the complaint, five others came forward and lodged complaint against Ghorpade.

"I was working as a driver for the NSR group for the last six months and used to drive Ghorpade to office every day. We shared a good relation as he never treated me as a driver," Borade said in his statement. u00a0He said on April 12 Ghorpade asked him to find someone who could lend him a few lakhs on which he assured to give 10 per cent interest.u00a0

"I then contacted my friend and arranged for Rs 3 lakh and gave it to Ghorpade. But after receiving the money, he made me an offer that he would give back double the amount instead of interest by investing it in his project. He guaranteed that money would be doubled in a month's time," Borade said.
Borade okayed Ghorpade's proposal without a second thought.

"He had called us to a restaurant located on premises of the railway station on April 13, where I went along with my friend and gave him money. He once again assured that money would be doubled and asked us to have faith in him. He also promised us a receipt for the payment in the next two days," Borade said.

Gone without a trace
But when Borade tried calling Ghorpade on his cellphone on April 18, he could not get through as Ghorpade's phone was switched off. Following this Borade went to his Ghorpade's residence in Kondhwa to check on his whereabouts. u00a0"His wife told me that he had not returned home for several days and she was worried about his well-being," Borade stated.u00a0

Senior police inspector Mahendra Rokade of the GRP said, "Ghorpade absconded on April 17 with the money he took from several people, and shut his office. Even his employees, who came to the office next day, were in for a rude shock after they realised that their boss was on the run."

GRP head constable Prashant Doiphode, who is investigating the case, said the police officials rushed Ghorpade's wife to a hospital where she delivered a baby boy and is currently housed at a women's shelter home run by an NGO. Doiphode said based on the complaints lodged against Ghorpade, he duped the victims of over Rs 15 lakh. u00a0