Thane jeweller duped of Rs 70 lakh; three booked for cheating and intimidation

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Police have registered a case against a couple and another person for allegedly cheating a jeweller in Maharashtra's Thane district of Rs 70 lakh, officials said on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

The accused gained the trust of the jeweller, from Golawli in Dombivli, by making timely payments on earlier purchases.

However, in October, they bought gold ornaments, collectively valued at nearly Rs 70 lakh, on three occasions, an official from Manpada police station said, reported PTI.

The accused promised to clear the dues later, but did not make the payment. Upon further insistence, they abused and threatened the jeweller, the police said, reported PTI.

Following the jeweller's complaint, the police on December 5 registered a case against the three accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 318(4) (cheating), 314 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 352 (intentional insult), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention), the official said.

BEST conductor duped of Rs 4.5 lakh with promise of CRPF job

In another case, a 36-year-old conductor with the civic-run BEST bus service was allegedly cheated of Rs 4.5 lakh by three men who promised to get him a job with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), police said on Saturday, reported PTI.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Sarfaraz Salmani, Nilesh Sarode and Yogesh Kumar Shukla on Friday on a complaint filed by Mahesh Devkar, a resident of Navi Mumbai, said an official of Chunabhatti police station, reported PTI.

No arrest has been made in the case yet.

In 2022, a friend introduced him to Sarode who claimed to have contacts that could help him secure a government job, Devkar said in the complaint, reported PTI.

Soon, he was told that there vacancies of havildar's post in CRPF, he said.

Sarode introduced him to Salmani who claimed he handled government job processing and allegedly demanded Rs 1 lakh as "fee", reported PTI.

A few days later, Salmani called Devkar to Delhi for a medical examination at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where he was introduced to Yogesh Kumar, reported PTI.

The trio then allegedly handed over a fake CRPF appointment letter to him and demanded another Rs 3 lakh. Under pressure, Devkar paid another Rs 3.5 lakh in instalments. He was also issued a bogus training letter, reported PTI.

But when he stopped receiving updates, he tried contacting the accused who did not respond. When he demanded a refund, he was given a cheque of Rs 50,000 which bounced. Devkar then found out that all the documents, including appointment and training letters, were fake, and lodged a police complaint, reported PTI.

An FIR was registered against Salmani, Nilesh Sarode and Yogesh Kumar Shukla for cheating and forgery, and further investigation was underway, the official added.

(With inputs from PTI)