13 August,2026 11:22 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan. Pic/X
A relative of Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan is among two persons arrested for allegedly cheating a person of Rs 2.17 crore by promising him lucrative contracts for works related to the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Nashik, police said on Wednesday.
The arrests were made as police investigated an alleged fraud involving fake work orders for Kumbh Mela-related projects. Police said the wider scam involved fake work orders and payments running into hundreds of crores of rupees.
The arrested persons were identified as 32-year-old Tanay Mahajan, a distant relative of Girish Mahajan, and 51-year-old Narendra Totaram Mahajan.
According to police, the two accused and an accomplice allegedly gained the complainant's confidence by showing him a fake work order containing a "list of Kumbh Mela works".
The document allegedly carried the Government of India emblem and the name of the Nashik Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority. The accused allegedly used the document to convince the complainant that they could help him secure a housekeeping contract connected to Kumbh Mela preparations.
Police said the complainant was allegedly cheated of Rs 2.17 crore after being promised the work order.
The case emerged during a wider investigation into an alleged racket involving fake documents and work orders for Kumbh Mela-related projects.
Girish Mahajan acknowledged that Tanay Mahajan was a distant relative and said criminal cases had previously been registered against him.
"He is a gone case. Similar cases had previously been registered against Tanay... I spoke with Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik, and three to four names had surfaced in the crime. I believe six to seven persons were involved and should face strict action," the minister said.
Mahajan also called for strict action against anyone found involved in the alleged fraud, irrespective of their connections.
Nashik DCP Kirankumar Chauhan said on Wednesday that Mahajan had alerted Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik about incidents of cheating allegedly carried out by a gang using the pretext of Kumbh Mela work orders.
"The investigation revealed that two accused had shown fake documents and allotted fake work orders for works worth Rs 591 crore to complainants who have come forward so far. In return, they took Rs 305 crore from them and cheated them. Accordingly, three cases were filed with Nashik Road Police on August 11, and two persons have been arrested so far," Chauhan said.
Police said the investigation is focused on identifying other people allegedly involved in the racket and determining how the fake documents and work orders were prepared and circulated.
Mahajan said the tendering process for Kumbh Mela-related works is conducted online and warned people against those claiming that some tenders are being processed offline.
Girish Mahajan had said the Kumbh Mela tender process is conducted online. "However, a racket is working to cheat people by saying that the process of some tenders is on in an offline manner also," he said.
The minister also clarified that genuine work orders are not issued in the names of individual officials and do not carry authorised QR codes.
He said 12 incidents of cheating had been reported, following which Nashik Police registered three cases.
(With inputs from PTI)
