Suspended cop claims to be Rahul Gandhi's pal, dupes man of Rs 70 lakh

Earlier, Kadam had been booked for stealing a pet dog and opening a bank account via identity theft (‘Cop who stole dog now steals man's identity', Mar 14) following which he accused ACP Anil Kharade (Vakola division) for setting him up (‘Cop accused of ID theft blames ACP for framing him', Mar 15).

Being framed: Tushar Kadamu00a0has accused ACP Anil Kharade (Vakola division) of setting him up. File pic

‘He fooled me'
As per businessman Vijay Kamble's complaint with the Vakola police, Kadam and his accomplice, Burhani Sayyed alias Nawab, have duped him of Rs 70 lakh. The accused had promised Kamble the position of chairperson of a Union ministry department. Kadam, allegedly, lured the victim by claiming that AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi was a regular visitor at his farmhouse in Talegaon, Pune and they would go paragliding quite often.

According to Kamble, in 2009 he had visited Kadam at the Vakola police station, where he overheard the police official talking to someone in a Central ministry. When asked about it, Kadam said that he had contacts in the ministry. As days passed, the interaction between the duo increased, and Kadam offered him the chairmanship of the ministry. Kamble said, "Initially I was doubtful of his claims, but got convinced after he showed me letterheads, visiting cards and envelops related to the Central ministry."

Kadam then introduced Kamble to Nawab, who took him to Delhi on several occasions. "All this while, I was giving them money, without realising that I was being fooled. After a while, they showed me a letter stating that I have been selected as the chairperson for the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. After receiving the letter I gave them more money and since then they have gone missing." It's been a year since the duo has contacted Kamble. Fed up, Kamble finally registered a complaint at Vakola police station against Kadam and Nawab.

Copspeak
PSI Vitthal Salgaonkar from Vakola police station said, "We have registered a case against Kadam and Sayyed and have booked them under Sec 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 465 and 471 (forgery) of the IPC."u00a0

The other side
When contacted, Kadam rubbished all the charges levelled against him. He alleged that ACP Anil Kharade was falsely implicating him. Kadam said that Kharade has set his sight on a big piece of land in Kalina. "In this case too, the inquiry was carried out by Kharade. Kharade's men have been mentally harassing my wife and daughter. Like the previous cases, even this case has been cooked up. I don't know where to go and whom to appeal to," Kadam said.u00a0