Mumbai Police have registered a case against a man, who allegedly posed as an officer at the Chief Minister`s Office (CMO), and three others for allegedly cheating a jeweller of Rs 2.8 crore, officials said, reported news agency PTI.
The 57-year-old jeweller, Shailesh Jain, approached the Lokmanya Tilak Marg Police Station on November 28 with a complaint against four persons, an official said on Monday, reported PTI.
In his complaint, Jain said that in January 2024, he came in contact with a man, identified as Vaibhav Paresh Thakar (32), who claimed to be a Class I officer working in the Chief Minister`s Office, reported PTI.
Thakar, along with his wife, mother-in-law and agent Birju Salla, conspired and duped the jeweller of Rs 2.8 crore after taking money, gold and diamonds from him under various pretexts between February and April 2024, the complainant alleged, reported PTI.
Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case against the four persons on charges of cheating and a probe is on into it, the official said.
Former counsellor with Thane academic institute booked for cheating
In another case, the police have registered an FIR against a former academic counsellor of an educational institute in Maharashtra`s Thane city for allegedly cheating students and misusing their data to fraudulently collect money, officials said on Monday, reported PTI.
The accused in July this year stopped reporting to work at the institute, which provides training courses for students in analytics and technology, they said.
He, however, continued to contact students, falsely presenting himself as still employed with the institute and allegedly collected Rs 48,866 without the establishment`s knowledge, an official from Naupada police station said, reported PTI.
“The accused misused student data and collected money directly from them into his personal mobile-linked account. He did not inform the students that he was no longer associated with the institute and misled them under various pretexts,” the official said, reported PTI.
Following a complaint by the institute, the police on Saturday registered a case against the counsellor under sections 316(4) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the police said.
Man held for cheating Thane jeweller of Rs 27 lakh
Meanwhile, police have arrested a man in Maharashtra`s Thane district for allegedly cheating a local jeweller of Rs 27.5 lakh by gaining his trust with a fake cheque, officials said on Sunday, reported PTI.
The accused, from the Bhayander area, befriended the 57-year-old jeweller through an online real estate marketplace in July and gained his trust by giving a cheque of Rs 66 lakh as an advance payment towards the purchase of a flat from him.
After winning the victim`s confidence, the accused bought gold jewellery valued at Rs 27.5 lakh from him without making any payment, and then issued a stop-payment instruction for the cheque issued earlier for the property deal, a police release said, reported PTI.
Based on the jeweller`s complaint, the Bhayander police registered a case against the accused on September 16 under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 318(4) (cheating) and 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), reported PTI.
The accused later hid his identity and frequently changed locations to Delhi, Noida and Mumbai to evade arrest, it said.
The police finally traced him to a hotel in Thane city and arrested him from there on November 27, the release said, reported PTI.
The accused is a habitual offender, with cases of cheating already registered against him in Thane and Mumbai and some dating back to 2000, the police added.
(With inputs from PTI)
